Save Me From The Dark
by Princesspepper
Summary: Draco cuts himself. He never does it deep enough to kill, only enough to feel the pain. But when it goes to far, who will save him from himself? HPDM. Rated R for self mutilation and language.
1. Spilt Blood

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N): Heloooooooooo people! -waves- this is a re-post, because I was not at all satisfied with the original. I mean, it was good when I wrote it, but now I've improved _ever so much_, so I want to re-upload the chapters. If this is your first time reading this, I hope you like it! If it isn't… well, I'm sure you like it, because you're reading it again!

On another note, this is indeed SLASH, YAOI, or whatever the hell you want to call it. It focuses around a gay relationship (between Harry and Draco, more specifically) so if you don't like that, or if you are a homophobe, get lost before I sic my attack cats on you!

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(**Chapter One: Spilt Blood)**

Draco lay awake staring at the ceiling, silver eyes ablaze with anger and frustration. His heart was on fire from depravation and loneliness. His skin was crawling with the sickening feeling of Pansy Parkinson's hands gliding over him, tearing at him hungrily.

As he turned his head to look at her sleeping form beside him, Draco was shocked by how alone he felt although she was right there next to him. He silently cursed himself for crawling back to her every time he felt alone, for she only made him feel worse. Of course, crawling was only a figure of speech. Draco Malfoy never crawled to anyone.

No, whenever he wanted something, Draco always made it sound like someone else was trying to give it to him, and he was doing them a favor by taking it. Even though in Parkinson's case that was true, Draco needed her too in a way. Or at least he thought he did. He was not attracted to her by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, he preferred men. But nobody was supposed to know that. His fa—_Lucius_ would never approve. Draco had stopped calling Lucius "father" long ago, for Lucius was never like a father to him, always abusive; in fact, the cause of _most_ of Draco's problems… but that wasn't the point. Because of Lucius's disapproval—and the lack of confidence Draco had in himself—he used Pansy as sort of a distraction, a way for him to hide from reality. But Draco couldn't help noticing that he was always disgusted after one of his "sessions" with Pansy. She, however, did not feel repulsed in the least. She kept coming back for more. Draco smiled to himself as the thought crossed his mind. Nope, nobody could resist the charms of Draco Malfoy. Boys and girls alike got week in the knees every time he gave one of his trademarked smirks.

But Draco became disgusted with himself once again as he realized it was he himself who allowed Parkinson to do these things.

Draco furiously punched his pillow and turned over. His last thought before finally falling asleep was praying that he wouldn't dream.

But dream he did.

He dreamed of piercing emerald green eyes staring deep into his cold, dead silver ones. And silky smooth jet-black hair running through his own pale fingers. And velvety pink lips closing over his own mouth…

Draco awoke with a start, shocked at what he had just dreamed of. He had always known he was gay—that had been apparent for a long time now—but never before had he dreamed about _Harry Potter _like this. It was what he had least expected, to become infatuated with his long time rival. Sure, he had always found Harry attractive, but that was purely physical. He and Harry had been enemies since the impressionable age of eleven, and now, at sixteen, that hadn't wavered in the slightest.

Draco had begun to talk to himself in this dreamy state of consciousness, but, realizing Pansy was still next to him, he fell silent.

Pansy was still next to him… 

Draco was suddenly enraged by the thought. Pansy—a _girl_—was in _his_ bed. Something would have to be done about _that_…

Draco abruptly shoved the sleeping Pansy Parkinson off the bed, hearing her hit the floor with a dull thud. She groaned and blinked her eyes stupidly a few times, trying to recall where she was. She saw Draco's pale face hovering over her in the dark, and remembered where she was.

"Owww… Dracoooooo…" she whined, "What was _that_ for?"

"Shut the fuck up Parkinson!" snapped Draco furiously, "Last time I recalled, this was _my_ private room, and you were in _my_ bed!"

"But—but—," stammered Pansy, feeling very confused.

"I said SHUT UP!" Roared the infuriated Slytherin, pale face reddening with anger, "Just get OUT!"

Pansy began to stand up, with a hurt expression on her face. "But Dray, don't you remember last night? You were _fine _with me being in your bed _then_…-"

But Draco cut her off, "Yes, yes, of course, how could I forget last night? What, with your slimy little hands all over me? That is exactly why I want you to GET OUT!"

And with that, Draco shoved the very confused and barely dressed Pansy towards the portrait hole. "And don't call me 'Dray!'" he shouted after her.

As she made her way out, she shouted, "I know you enjoyed it Draco! Why else would you keep coming back to me?"

This really struck a nerve, but Draco's only response was to chuck the rest of her clothes through the portrait hole, shoving her out after them, and slamming the door behind her.

_Well, that takes care of that,_ Draco thought to himself as he made his way back to his King Sized bed. He grabbed the clock on his nightstand and looked at it. It was nearly six thirty. No time to go back to sleep. With a heavy sigh, Draco reluctantly dragged himself into the bathroom. He stepped into the shower after shedding the little clothes he was wearing and turned it up as hot as he could stand, hoping to burn away the feeling of Pansy touching his bare skin.

Draco sighed in dismay at the memory of the dream he had just had. It made him miserable just thinking about it, for he knew he was beginning to have feelings for someone who would never feel the same way about him. All this misery gave Draco an idea.

As he stepped out of the shower, he lifted the concealment charm he had placed on his left arm and gazed at the reality of his life. He watched as patches of his milky white skin revealed their colorful hidden secret.

Carved into the pale flesh of his arm were dozens of healed-over scratches. Scratches that he had put there himself. Scratches that left scars, which reminded him of his past horrors. Horrors that he feared would never cease. Each little mark told its own story, as each was the result of his untapped despair boiling over. As his eyes traveled down the length of his arm, he was reminded of all the times he had done this. It was like a time line of scratches. He had started up at his shoulder, and made his way almost all the way down to his wrist.

His eyes paused at one mark in particular. The last one he had made in a long time. Although usually he had only pressed on the blade hard enough to feel the pain, to see the blood, this one in particular was much, much deeper. He had been over enthusiastic when he had made that one. That was the one that had almost killed him. And he had almost wanted it to. He shuddered as he recalled the incident that had made him do this clearly…

Draco violently shook his head, as if to discard the memory. He didn't want to remember that. But he would never cut himself that deep ever again. Someone might figure out what he was doing and make a pathetic attempt to help him. But Draco Malfoy didn't need help…

As Draco reached into the third draw from the top, he felt his hand close around something smooth and cool. He remembered his dream about Harry and felt a fresh wave of misery. His decision was made. He drew his hand out from the draw, the hand that was now clasped around the hilt of a silver dagger. Draco's scalp tingled as he awaited the refreshing release of the cool metal against his skin right before it punctured. He drew the knife closer and closer to his arm… Draco Malfoy didn't need any help…

The cool metal of the knife touched his awaiting skin, and in one swift move, Draco pressed lightly and slashed the dagger across the area right above his wrist. He let out a huge sigh of relief as he let the knife fall to the tile floor with a clatter. He watched as the blood slowly oozed out of this new wound, with a hungry expression on his pale face… Draco Malfoy didn't need any help…

Or so he thought.

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(A/N): Feedback is much appreciated! Please leave a review, it would mean a whole lot to me. Even if you're just correcting an error that I made (which I would be happy to fix if you point it out). If you don't want to now, please do so once you've finished the last chapter that is up! Just one thing: I'll have to ask you not to flame me. Constructive criticism is perfectly acceptable, but no flames! Okay, thank you! Until next time,

XOXO Princesspepper OXOX


	2. Healed Wounds

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N): This chapter's dedicated to **SparkleyTeddyBear**, **Beth, jen,ozumas girl, Reese Craven, Cindilina, and Sineadluv! **Thank you so much for reviewing, it means a lot to me!

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**(Chapter Two: Healed Wounds)**

Harry Potter sat on the floor of the shower with his back pressed against the cool tile. He closed his stunning green eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. A relaxed smile crossed his face as he felt the hot water flow down his body in steady veins. He was just so happy. This threw into sharp relief the feelings he had experienced last year. He didn't really want to remember, but it made him appreciate his good mood. So, Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the delicate skin on his left forearm.

His eyes followed the healed-over patterns he had carved into his skin the previous year. He had been utterly miserable when he did this. He had not just cut however, he wrote words and sculpted designs as symbols of his sorrow. It was his way of expressing himself, or at least that was what he thought of it before he realized the danger when he had almost bled to death. A morbid smile haunted his lips as he saw one in particular, which he had sculpted in the form of a broken heart. He remembered that one clearly. _Heartbreak_, thought Harry wistfully, _not my favorite emotion by far_. This scar was very large; it took up about four inches of skin. It effectively described how he felt though, as if his heart took up the majority of his body. Not fun…

Harry's eyes traveled further down his arm and he started to see scars in the form of words. Those were fading for the most part, but he could still see them. "Pain… Death… Fear… Love…" Harry whispered into the pitter-patter of the droplets of water falling to the ground. Yes, most of the scars on his arm had faded, on account of he had realized he needed help. He had spoken to his best friend, Hermione, about what he was doing, and she supported him in order to help him stop. It worked. It had been nearly a year since he stopped. He was quite pleased with the way the scars were healing over, seeming to symbolize the healing of his raw emotions in the past. Yes… they were all fading. Save for one. Although the image of the broken heart on his arm healed over, it hadn't started to fade, as if it was waiting for someone to rip it open again. It was inevitable, although Harry really wasn't looking forward to it.

Harry sighed and turned off the shower. After getting ready, he headed down to breakfast, with the smile back on his face.

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"Oy! Harry! Wake up mate!" shouted Ron as Harry presumably stared into space. But Harry didn't notice, for it was not space he was staring into. It was the eyes of Draco Malfoy. He didn't quite know why. One minute he was eating his breakfast, the next he felt eyes upon him, so he turned around, only to be roped into the most intense stare he had ever experienced. He didn't know why he had held the stare for so long, but he did know he was incredibly confused. He didn't know why Draco Malfoy had been watching him, especially without the usual loathing. He looked like he was pondering something important. Was it possible that he was looking at someone behind Harry? Harry didn't bother to look; he was too involved in the stare. It was scary how good he felt just from locking eyes with this boy. It was like he could see into Malfoy's soul… or at least he knew he would get there eventually.

Although Malfoy was at the next table, Harry could still see every detail of those amazing eyes. Among the silver were flecks of gold, only visible if you really looked. It was breathtaking. Literally. Harry had to remind himself how to breathe. Once he caught his breath he tried to look deeper, to find the message Malfoy was trying to convey to him. After what seemed like hours, but was really only a few seconds, Harry saw despair come in a wave across Draco's silver eyes. It pained Harry deeply, although, once again, he did not know why. Him and Draco were mortal enemies, right? Right? Harry silently shuddered as he realized he had just thought of Malfoy as "Draco"…

But there was something else in his eyes too, but Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it. After a little longer, he got it, and Malfoy realized he got it. It was complete and utter longing.

Harry must have had a shocked expression on his face, because Draco looked alarmed that he let Harry see so much and instantly broke the stare. Harry heard his fork clatter onto his plate when he dropped it due to surprise, yet continued to watch Draco avoid his eyes for another minute before tearing his gaze away and continuing to eat his breakfast.

"Finally!" exclaimed Ron quite loudly, "I thought you were a lost cause, honestly Harry, what were you thinking about that held you so spellbound that you didn't hear me screaming?"

"Er, oh it was nothing Ron, I thought I had forgotten to do that Charms essay, but I didn't… you know what? I really have to go…" and with that Harry grabbed his bag and rushed off after Draco, who had just goten up, leaving Ron quite alone, mouth quite unattractively agape.

Harry took off at a run as he saw Draco round the corner to the staircase that led to the dungeons, frantically gathering his thoughts as to what he was going to say.

"MALFOY, WAIT!" Harry yelped as Draco was slowly opening the door, unaware that he was being pursued.

Harry watched as Draco froze in his tracks at the sound of Harry's voice and slowly turned to face him. "What do _you_ want, Potter? I have no business with you," Draco sneered coldly.

"Well honestly…" Harry panted, trying to catch his breath from the chase, "what the hell are you going on about? I saw you staring at me, Malfoy."

Draco paused for a minute, looking quite scared. But then realizing Harry could practically tell what he was thinking, he instantly put his sneer back on. "What are you talking about, Potter?" Draco spat, "I was staring into space, something you should be familiar with, as you do it every day in Potions class." Draco flinched as he realized that for him to know that Harry stared into space during Potions, he would have to have been studying Harry. Thankfully, Harry didn't notice this.

"You know what? I don't care. I should have never…" Harry's face turned beet red with anger as he stalked away, leaving Draco to his thoughts. Which wasn't such a good idea, seeing as he was even more depressed than he had been hours ago. Draco made his way back to his room.

In the bathroom, once again clutching his favorite dagger, he stared at it, contemplating if he should just finish what he started and slit his wrists right then and there. No more messing around. No more false hope. But then, he did something very un-Malfoy-like and looked on the bright side, which was still pretty damn dark. But hey, maybe he did have a chance. Maybe Harry didn't _completely_ hate him. After all, he chased him down after the, er, _incident._ So he just did what he normally did, nothing different. After he was finished and felt a lot better, he traced the new cut with his right index finger, wiping off the blood. Reminding himself he was human, not immortal. He could die if he chose to hurt himself too badly. But that didn't stop Draco from doing it again.

He went back into the third draw from the top and moved his hand through its many contents until he found what he was looking for in the form of a small Swiss army knife, which his favorite uncle had given to him without Lucius's knowledge. "If you are ever in danger and without a wand, this should come in handy," his uncle had said when he presented him with the trinket. Draco let an ironic smirk play across is lips as he thought about what his uncle would say if he knew Draco would be using the very knife to cause himself pain. Draco pocketed the knife and headed to his first class of the day, Potions.

_Just in case,_ he thought as he exited the bathroom. Who knows? He might need it before he could get back to his room.

Who knew what kind of miseries were in store for him today?

**(End Of Chapter Two)**

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(A/N) Hope you liked it! Sorry for the shortness; they'll get longer as they progress. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, or read. Feedback please! 

XOXO Princesspepper OXOX


	3. Fresh Cuts

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story (they belong to J.K. Rowling) nor to I own the song "Bring Me To Life" (by Evanescence).

(A/N) This is perhaps one of my personal favorite chapters. The words you see in between paragraphs in brackets are the words to "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence. The song is what sparked the idea for this (including the title). And thanks for the reviews!

This chapter is dedicated to: **SquishSquish, ozumas girl, Alluring Cellar Door, MishapsErrors, adina, **and **Liteblueyes!** Thank you for allowing me to continue!

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**(Chapter Three: Fresh Cuts)**

As Harry stormed his way towards the dungeons for his first class, he ran his hand through his hair thoughtfully. He was furious at Draco for blowing him off like that, but there was something else there too… he couldn't help blushing as he remembered the way he had locked eyes with the Slytherin just minutes earlier. He started remembering all the things he saw in Draco's eyes…

"Harry, are you feeling alright? Your cheeks are a bit on the pink side…"

Harry snapped his head up with a start at the sound of Hermione's concerned voice. He was quite flustered at the fact that she noticed his blush, but thankfully, she thought he was sick, because she had never seen Harry blush before.

"No, I'm fine 'Mione, just a bit warm…" Harry dashed off to the Potions classroom before Hermione could question him further.

Hermione stood there, quite bewildered for a minute, pondering what could possibly be wrong with her best friend. First he stares into space for five minutes, then he runs after Malfoy, and lastly he ditches her after her questioning him. "Very odd indeed," Hermione whispered to herself. And right then she promised she would watch Harry very closely she was quite worried about him.

As Harry rounded the corner to potions class, the thought crossed his mind that he would most definitely have to face Draco this period. Snape had a horrible habit of pairing the two of them when they worked on a potion (cliché I know, but why not?) and Harry was positive today would be no different.

But when Harry walked into the classroom, he was shocked to find himself disappointed that Draco was not there. Snape began the lesson and Harry found himself watching the door for any sign of the blond.

To Harry's delight, not five minutes later, Draco entered the classroom looking quite disheveled. His normally gelled back hair was hanging loose around his jaw line, and very messed up at that. His robes weren't laying the right way, and his eyes looked hollow, as though he had been extremely upset but tried hard not to cry. Harry found himself thinking that Draco looked quite sexy like that, but quickly shook his head, discarding the thought.

Harry noticed one last thing before Draco took his seat. Draco seemed to have what looked horribly like blood all dried and caked on his wrist. Harry blinked a few times; sure he had imagined it, until Draco saw him looking and quickly tugged down his sleeve. Harry found himself devastated. He didn't know why, all he knew is that—_somehow—_ he managed to start caring about Malfoy.

_(How can you see into my eyes like open doors?  
Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb.  
Without a soul  
My spirit sleeping somewhere cold  
Until you find me there and lead it back  
Home)_

Harry locked eyes with Draco for the second time that day. Again, he saw Draco's thoughts frozen behind his silver eyes. Although his eyes were clouded by despair, Harry could see everything he was thinking. Right there. Plain as day. It was that longing again. It thoroughly scared Harry, but also intrigued him beyond his comprehension.

Snape's gruff voice dragged Harry and Draco back to Earth. As Harry had predicted, Snape had paired him with Draco once again, much to their hidden delight. Harry didn't know what the hell was wrong with him. First he ditches his best friends to chase after his archenemy, and now he was _happy_ that he was paired with said archenemy! _Well,_ Harry thought, _archenemy wouldn't be the right word. Technically Voldemort is my archenemy…Draco's more like my rival…-wait, did I just think of him as Draco? AGAIN!_ Harry and Draco both tried desperately to hide their enthusiasm as Harry hauled his cauldron over to Draco's desk.

Harry was in such utter disbelief that he was starting to actually like Draco that he decided that he would have to be extra harsh, because he had to convince himself this wasn't happening (go figure…). It couldn't be true. Harry _hated_ Draco. Didn't he?

Draco was thrilled. Of course, Snape always paired him with Potter, but it never got old. This was great. Now he had an excuse to stare at Potter. _Why does he have to be so damned sexy?_ Draco thought as he watched Harry drag his things over to sit next to Draco. There was the slight concern that Potter may have seen the blood on Draco's wrist… but no, Draco wouldn't bother himself with that. He had to enjoy this.

"Today, class, we will be making a sleeping draught," Snape was saying, but Draco wasn't listening; he was staring at Harry. "If the potion is made right, it should make the drinker drowsy for approximately one minute, and then they will fall asleep for about five minutes. If it is not mixed right, however, the drinker will instantly pass out on the spot, but for only thirty seconds. One person from each pair will test the potion, so I suggest you take great care in making it. Now begin!"

Draco only noticed that Snape had finished talking when Harry rose from his seat to gather the ingredients. Draco didn't know what potion they were making because he was so distracted, but no matter, because if it went wrong, Snape would blame it on Potter. Draco smirked to himself at the thought. Just because he had a crush on Harry didn't mean he didn't enjoy seeing him suffer! Draco was ever the sadist.

Harry returned with the ingredients moments later and began mixing the potion. He instructed Draco to add the snake venom and to stir exactly fifty times. But, again, Draco was staring at Harry, the way that his soft pink lips formed the words that he was reading… so Draco lost count…

In the middle of the lesson, when the potion was brewed, Harry filled a vial of the potion and carefully handed it to Draco.

"What's this, Potter? You want _me _to taste it?" Draco snapped as he took the vial from Harry. As he did this, their fingertips brushed and sent a jolt that shot through Draco's entire body, making it very hard to concentrate on what he was saying.

"Well, Malfoy," Harry spat, "after all, you do claim to be the best at potions, and you handled the most delicate parts of the recipe, so why not? You aren't afraid you messed it up, are you?"

The sad truth was Draco was terrified that he messed it up. He was sure he must have. And since he wasn't even paying attention at the beginning of class, he didn't know what he was getting himself into. But, as always, his ego got in the way. He downed it in one gulp.

At first, he didn't feel anything odd, and he thought he must have brewed it correctly. But that was when his world went black…

_(Wake me up inside  
Wake me up inside  
Call my name and save me from the dark  
Bid my blood to run  
Before I come undone  
Save me from the nothing I've become)_

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.Harry's POV.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

I caught him. I don't know what got into me, but I caught him. His weight dragged me to the ground, for I can't say I am very strong. His head lay in my lap. The stupid git must have brewed the potion wrong. I was mad, but I was also thrilled. There I was, with the best looking boy in school in my arms. But I wasn't to think like that. At that point I was still convinced that there was nothing between me and him. My obsession was nothing more than the kind one would have with his enemy. But, really, who is _that_ obsessed with their _enemy_? It never really occurred to me before just how strange it was between the two of us. I guess this had to happen to help me realize… to help me realize that he meant the world to me.

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.Draco's POV.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

As I came to I felt like a truck had hit me head on. I slowly opened my eyes to find myself gazing into emerald green. Harry Potter was holding me and staring into my eyes. I thought I was dreaming. Everything was hazy.

"Harry…" I whispered as I reached my heavy arm up to touch his face. I saw his beautiful eyes widen in panic as he dropped me to the ground. My head hit the floor with a crack and everything went back into focus. To my utter horror, I had not been dreaming.

"Malfoy! What was that about you little git!" Potter was screaming at me. I did not want this. How could he be mad at me? Didn't he feel that spark? I sure as hell felt it. Anger clouded my eyes, when all I really wanted to do was cry.

"Well Potter, if you hadn't messed up the potion I wouldn't have passed out! It's your fault you twit!" I hissed at him in an angry whisper, hoping Snape wouldn't notice we had gotten into another fight.

"MY FAULT?" Potter hissed back, "It was you! I told you to only stir the solution _fifty times!_ You can't even count…" grumbled Harry as he threw his things into his cauldron and pushed it back to his own desk. I needed to be alone. This was too much. I can't have him mad at me.

"Well I'll be off to the lavatory then, I must wash myself off from your filthy hands!" I shouted across the room before storming out. As soon as my back was to the room and I was sure nobody could see me, my eyes welled up with tears.

"Malfoys never cry…" I could hear Lucius's cold words echo in my head as tears streamed down my cheeks in steady patterns. I cried from embarrassment. I cried from humiliation. But mostly I cried from rejection. I wanted Harry and he didn't want me. But that's how it always went with Draco Malfoy.

_(Now that I know what I'm without  
You can't just leave me  
Breathe into me and make me real  
Bring me to life)_

As I stumbled into the boys' washroom I fumbled around in my large pocket trying to find the little knife. I found it and locked myself in a stall. I flicked the blade out and pressed the cool metal to the skin on my arm…

But for the second time in my life I cut too deep. As I watched the blood spill out of my fresh wound I briefly thought, '_Is this the end?'_ And for the second time that day, my world went black.

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.Normal POV.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

Back in potions class, time was inching along very slowly. Snape lectured monotonously for the remainder of the lesson, but Harry was not paying attention. He was thinking about Draco again. Harry could have sworn Draco looked quite stricken when he left the dungeons, he hoped he wasn't upset. _'But why would he be,'_ Harry thought,_ 'he doesn't care what _I_ think. But why should I care if he was upset? I was trying to upset him…'_ But Harry couldn't help feeling bad anyway.

Harry begun to get worried when the lesson ended and Draco had not returned from the washroom. He took it upon himself to find out where he had gone. He quickly left the potions classroom to avoid ambush from Ron and Hermione. Harry ran his fingers through his already tousled hair while thinking of how he was going to do this without arousing suspicion.

He decided that he would pop into the washroom, see if Draco was there, wash his hands (to make it look like that's why he was in there in the first place) and leave. Simple enough…

When Harry finally arrived in the lavatory, he nervously glanced around. Draco was nowhere in sight and neither was anyone else. He heard no sounds coming from anywhere in the room. But then he noticed something very odd indeed. One of the stalls was closed and locked. He called out to see who it was, but nobody answered. Finally, curiosity got the best of Harry and he strode over to the stall. Slowly, as not to fall, he peeked under the door…

Harry's breath caught in his throat as his eyes took in the sight before him. On the floor of the stall, he saw what was unmistakably Draco Malfoy, sprawled in an unnatural position. What was more; the floor was covered in blood. Blood that was streaming from the unconscious boy's wrist.

_(Frozen inside without your touch  
Without your love, darling  
Only you are the life among the dead)_

"Oh Malfoy, what have you done?" Harry groaned sadly as he searched his pocket frantically for his wand. When he found it, he used the '_alohomora' _charm to unlock the stall, and then threw it open desperately. Harry lowered himself to the floor, dropping his wand beside him with a clatter. He cradled Draco's unconscious form and lifted his injured arm. Slowly, Harry lifted the sleeve of Draco's robes to see the wound.

Once again, Harry's breath caught in his throat. All along the boy's arm, Harry saw scars differing in depth and length. Some looked much newer than others. Harry's eyes welled up with tears of sadness and shock as he saw the offending wound that caused Draco to pass out.

It was much unlike the others, those having been lines. It was a broken heart. One just like the one Harry had carved into his own skin over a year before. A thousand thoughts crossed Harry's mind at once. '_Isn't it such a coincidence that right after I yell at him he goes and does this?'_ Harry thought, but he instantly dismissed it, it couldn't be possible. This was _Draco Malfoy_. He didn't feel. '_Well,'_ Harry thought, '_that isn't true if he does this…'_

It was then Harry realized he should be helping. There he was, cradling a dying boy, and all he could do was stare. Harry performed some quick healing charms that stopped all the bleeding, but Draco was still quite unconscious. Harry took this opportunity to observe this fallen angel in his arms.

_(All of this time I can't believe I couldn't see  
Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me)_

He looked at the way his beautiful silver eyes were half open, staring blankly at Harry. His pink lips were slightly parted, and he was drawing ragged breaths. His long blond hair was falling into his eyes. Harry brushed it aside only to discover how soft it was. He longed to touch it more.

_(I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems  
Got to open my eyes to everything)_

Harry slowly shook the Slytherin, hoping to wake him. It wasn't working. He ran over to the sink and wet some paper towels, quickly running back to Draco and cradling him again. '_I quite like him like this…'_ Harry thought with a morbid smirk on his face. He started patting Draco's face with the wet towel. He stirred slightly, drawing a relieved sigh from Harry.

"Malfoy, wake up! Are you alright?" Harry whispered. He watched as Malfoy slowly blinked and then opened up his beautiful eyes fully.

"Harry…" he whispered hoarsely, "Wha—what happened?"

"You passed out, Malfoy. You nearly bled to death. How are you feeling?" Harry responded to the confused boy.

"Like I want to die." Answered Draco honestly. Harry could tell he was not all there. He was still half unconscious.

"Malfoy, I've got to get you to the hospital wing. Stay right here. I'll-" started Harry, but Draco interrupted him.

"NO! Wait, stay here," murmured Draco, sounding quite desperate. "Please don't leave… I'm scared…"

"Scared of what?" Harry whispered, not quite sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"I'm… I'm scared… that you will never love me." Draco gasped out in an unsteady voice. And with that, Draco Malfoy passed out in a dead faint for the third time that day.

_(Without thought, without a voice, without a soul  
Don't let me die here  
There must be something more  
Bring me to life.)_

**(End Of Chapter Three)**

(A/N): So, whadja think? PLEASE let me know! Until next time,

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	4. Secrets

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically—it says suicide, but it doesn't get that far), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N): More Harry/Draco interaction here! This chapter is where you see the first big changes from the original version—the original was so much cheesier.

This chapter is dedicated to **adina, SummerlandJM, Darkness08, MishapsErrors, creepy clown doll, cinder, ozumas girl, Jordan (twodollartrick), lovesdracolots, **and **Madeline**! Thank you all so much for reviewing.

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**(Chapter Four: Secrets)**

The instant that Draco passed out again, Harry took a moment to absorb what Draco had just said.

_He's afraid I won't love him…_ Harry thought. This was so weird. He had no idea what to do… or think. He couldn't deny that the thought that Draco had feelings for him exhilarated him. He wasn't sure if he was quite ready to admit his feelings for the blond, but he decided he'd deal with that later. Because right now, he had to get Draco some help.

Harry's eyes darted around the room, looking for something that might aid him. He found nothing. He was sure Draco would not want to be taken to the Hospital Wing; Madam Pomfrey would most definitely discover what happened and demand that Draco get help, which, again, Draco would object to. So Harry decided to take matters into his own hands.

Harry conjured a stretcher out of thin air and carefully lifted Draco onto it. He cast a charm on the stretcher so it would hover in midair behind him. Lunch was already in session, so nobody was in the hallway, therefore, Harry was able to bring Draco into Gryffindor tower undisturbed.

Once they got there, Harry brought Draco up to his room and placed him upon his four-poster bed. He closed the hangings and dashed down to the Great Hall, seeking Hermione, for she would surely know what to do.

As Harry burst through the ornate doors of the Great Hall, everyone turned their heads to stare at him, being as he was panting and looking quite distraught. He staggered over to the Gryffindor table, stopping only when he stood in front of Hermione.

"'Mione, come quick…" Harry panted, "Someone needs your help…" as he said this, Harry sunk onto the bench next to Hermione, trying to catch his breath, knowing it would be mere seconds before they were off again.

"Harry? What's wrong? Is someone hurt? Are you okay?" Hermione squeaked, quite afraid of the answers to these questions.

"N-no time…to explain… come now!" Harry gasped as he grabbed her arm and bolted towards the door, her stumbling away behind him.

When they reached Harry's room, he yanked aside the curtains to expose the unconscious Draco Malfoy to Hermione. She gasped as she realized whom it was she was going to help.

"Harry—what—what happened?" Hermione gasped as she took in the sight, which she found terribly strange—and suspicious. '_Harry's arch nemesis is lying on his bed,' _Hermione thought, '_and he is unconscious. Harry did not knock him out. He is trying to _help_ him. What the hell is going on?_'

However, Hermione managed to tuck away her suspicions for later analysis. She had to face the problem at hand. Although she strongly disliked Draco Malfoy, she did not want him to die. She wouldn't wish that on anyone. Well, except Voldemort of course. '_And maybe Rita Skeeter_,' Hermione chuckled to herself at that last thought.

Hermione rolled up her sleeves and began to work. Harry was collapsed on Ron's bed, trying to catch his breath, so he wouldn't be much help. She analyzed Draco's condition, but all she could see is that he was paler than usual. No scratches or anything. But it seemed as if he had suffered from… _blood loss!_

Hermione did the same as Harry had when Draco was first discovered. She yanked the sleeve of his robes up a little until she saw the latest gash. She slowly edged it up until it reached his shoulder, where the cuts began. She felt her eyes well up with tears despite herself. That kind of thing was so sad; it always got to her.

She felt a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach, for who knew how many of these self-destructive cuts had her or one of her friends induced by their harsh words?

"Harry, did you see this?" Hermione said, still quite shocked at her discovery. Harry only nodded with his eyes closed, still catching his breath. Hermione fished her wand out of her pocket and searched through her memory banks for a few moments before she came up with a charm to replace lost blood. She cast it upon the comatose Draco and turned to Harry to explain the circumstance.

Harry was now sitting upright, watching her carefully, and watching Draco even more carefully for any sign of movement. Hermione approached Harry with a concerned look on her face, preparing what she was going to say next, because she simply HAD to find out what was going on; this was way too odd.

As soon as Harry noticed she was drawing nearer, his eyes snapped away from Draco's unconscious form and focused on Hermione.

"Will he be alright?" Harry asked, sounding very frightened, while cracking his knuckles nervously.

"Oh yes Harry, he'll be fine. He needs to stay here until he wakes up though." As Hermione said this, she watched Harry's face light up, which concerned her even more. "What I'm more worried about, Harry, is you. You've been acting very odd lately."

Harry paled a bit as he said "How so?' and flicked his eyes to Draco, making Hermione's suspicions even more plausible.

So Hermione went on to explain all of her evidence to Harry, starting from the odd stare fest in the Great Hall, from being concerned enough to go looking for Draco. By the end of Hermione's explanation, Harry was looking very nervous indeed. His eyes kept darting from her face, to Draco's unconscious body, to the door of the room.

"Harry, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Hermione said gently, cupping his chin in her hands.

Harry carefully avoided her eyes, but when Hermione didn't give up, he finally looked at her. "I know, it's just a little hard for me to say…"

"You know I won't judge you no matter what. I don't care about anything but making sure you are all right. I can tell you need to talk, so please, tell me what's going on."

Harry sighed and finally gave in. He told her all the facts of what had happened in the past few days, but none of how he felt. Hermione listened attentively and didn't say a word until he was done.

"Wow, did Malfoy really say that?" Harry slowly nodded. "Well I'm glad you told me what happened, but I can't help noticing you didn't tell me how you _felt_ about it, which is the most important part."

Harry took a deep breath, hoping he was making the right choice in telling her. '_Hermione will understand, she's never showed any prejudice,'_ Harry reassured himself. Slowly he began to explain…

"… and Hermione, please don't hate me for this, but I—I think I really DO like him…"

"Harry," Hermione said, quite hopefully, to Harry's surprise, "does this mean you're—you're—um, gay?"

"Yes." Harry whispered, as he looked her right in the eye. He said this almost defiantly, as if he had just decided to admit it to her as well as himself.

A huge smile spread across Hermione's face as she jumped up from her place on an armchair and ran over to Harry to give him a huge hug.

"Mmph, what was that for Hermione?" Harry said, relief apparent in his voice, for he was surprised at how well Hermione had taken his news.

"Harry, every girl wants to have a best friend who's gay, it's like an unwritten rule," Hermione said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "but I'm also very happy for you. I'm glad that Draco makes you happy, and I'm glad that you were able to tell me. You must really trust me, huh?' Hermione said this last bit with a huge smile on her face.

Harry returned the smile with full force, "Of course I trust you, 'Mione, but I'm not sure if Ron is ready to hear this. Could you please not tell him? I don't think I want him to know, at least for now."

"Of course, I won't if you ask me not to. I agree, I think Ron needs to open his mind more before he hears this…" Hermione said with a foreboding sound to her voice.

Harry smiled at Hermione again, thinking about how fortunate he was to have a friend like her. "I better get back to lunch Harry, would you like to come? Or would you prefer to stay here…?" said Hermione, turning to Draco and giving Harry a wink.

"Uh, I think I'll stay here," said Harry, looking quite shaken up from the wink, "In case he wakes up, you know, he'll want to know where he is."

"Sure Harry, I'm positive that's why you're staying," Hermione said with a sarcastic smirk, "but seriously, that is a good idea. We have Transfiguration next don't we?" Harry nodded, "alright, well I'll tell McGonagall you're not feeling well. Same for Draco… I just hope she doesn't get too suspicious." Hermione gave Harry one last smile and wave, and with that, she walked out the door and descended the stairs.

Now that Harry was alone, he was getting quite panicky. He didn't know what he was going to do or say when Draco woke up. Harry started pacing the dormitory fervently, glancing at Draco now and then, and searching for any hint of him returning to consciousness. But a whole hour passed by and not so much as a flutter of an eyelid could be seen from the young Malfoy. Harry began to get worried again.

Harry strode over to the bed that Draco lay on and sat beside him, studying his flawless face. He started at the bottom, with his lips. They were perfectly pink and looked quite soft. '_How lovely,'_ Harry thought to himself as he moved on to Draco's perfect nose. Then Harry looked further, up to the blonde's closed eyes. Again, there was a soft lock of hair falling over Draco's eyelids, and Harry lovingly brushed it away. As if in response to Harry's touch, just like the awakening of Sleeping Beauty, Draco's eyelids fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes.

* * *

The first thing Draco saw when he opened his eyes was Harry Potter staring intently at him. '_I must be dreaming'_ Draco thought slowly; still quite sluggish from the hours he was unconscious. But slowly, slowly, Harry came into sharper focus and Draco realized this was no dream, which lifted his spirits considerably.

"Draco—I mean _Malfoy_, are you alright? How are you feeling?" Harry repeated what he had said the first time he found Malfoy unconscious.

Draco propped himself up on one elbow and stared into Harry's eyes, trying to see past the beautiful emerald green right into his thoughts. They were quite clouded, and Draco couldn't tell what was going on inside that head of his. So he decided to answer honestly.

"I'm feeling very confused. What happened?" Draco looked quite puzzled, so Harry decided he couldn't have been playing games. Either that or he was an extremely good actor. He didn't put it past Malfoy, but still.

"Well you passed out, um, on the washroom floor. Don't you remember?" Harry said nervously, afraid Draco had hit his head too hard and gotten amnesia. But then Harry remembered Draco hadn't hit his head (go figure).

Draco squinted his eyes in concentration. Slowly, Harry saw the dawn come as Draco remembered the events of the past few hours. "Oh, right. I had just—crap, you know! And then I said—oh shit, oh SHIT!" Draco said, his expression suddenly becoming very guarded. He sprang to his feet and made to dash out the door, but Harry caught his arm and forced him back onto the bed.

"No, wait, you're still a bit peaky, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Harry said as Draco squirmed under his grasp.

"I don't need your sympathy, Potter!" Draco spat, still writhing under Harry's grasp. "I don't even know why you're talking to me!" Harry took one look at him and could instantly tell he was miserable, humiliated, degraded, and desperate. Harry knew that if he let Draco go, not only would they both continue to be miserable because of their un-confronted feelings, but also Draco would probably return to the washroom and slit his wrists!

"Look, Malfoy" he said firmly, "I'm not so pleased about this either. It's taking a lot out of me to help you like this. I've hated you since the day I met you! But I wouldn't wish death upon anyone. That's why I want to help."

Draco seemed to be considering what Harry was saying, his expression still cold and guarded. "I don't get it," he said finally, "I'm starting to wonder if _you_ remember what I said when I was half unconscious. Do you remember?" he raised a sculpted eyebrow at Harry.

Harry turned slightly pink at the words. "Huh? Oh, I wasn't sure if I heard you right." he stammered. Draco smirked triumphantly.

"Pfft, you must be freaking deaf, Potter," he scowled, crossing his thin arms across his chest.

"Grrr," was all he could say. He wasn't about to admit he really did hear it. That would be far too awkward for the both of them! Harry couldn't believe that this stuck-up prick was the same boy that he found passed out on the bathroom floor. Around other people (when he wasn't about to die of blood loss), he was such an ass!

Instantly, Harry felt bad for what he said, and what he thought. Draco looked genuinely hurt. "Fine…" he muttered, "I'll just go then…" he stood up dejectedly and was about to go to the door when Harry decided he had to shelve his pride.

"Draco, wait!" he cried, running up to him and putting his hand on his arm. "You have to stay the night. You're still really weak." Harry didn't know where this was coming from; he had no idea how he was going to hide Draco from the rest of his dorm! And there was NO WAY anyone else could find out about this. Everyone would laugh SO HARD if they knew he was being kind to Malfoy.

All that was going on in Harry's head, but Draco could only think of one thing. "You called me Draco…" he said softly and his facial muscles relaxed into a rare smile.

Harry stiffened instantly, not willing to give into the other boy. "Yes, I did," he snapped, "I obviously can't think for myself at the moment."

Draco glared, but settled back onto Harry's pillows. "Okay, fine. I'll stay. I know you want me to." Harry blushed. "But… wait a minute. Who else knows about this… about, _me?_ Who else did you tell, Potter? You couldn't have done all this by yourself!"

Harry cruelly prolonged his answering of the blonde's question, enjoying the power he had over the other boy. He always loved seeing Malfoy squirm. "You have no faith in me, Malfoy," Harry said, smirking. "I'll admit I had SOME help, but I did manage to get you up here without anyone noticing."

Draco blushed at the thought of Harry carrying him, but quickly covered it up by yelling. "WHO DID YOU TELL!"

Harry chuckled. "Just Hermione. I made her swear not to tell anyone though. Honestly, I don't hate you THAT much."

"Ouch, Potter, that hurt," Draco said, only half joking. He didn't appreciate the harsh words.

Harry merely shook his head, smiling slightly. "Shut up you prick. Look, I'm going to go down to The Great Hall. It'll be dinnertime by now. Do you want me to get you anything? You must be hungry."

Draco noticed his stomach growl. "Yeah, starving. Thanks," he said genuinely, looking Harry in the eye. He saw Harry's expression soften, but when Harry realized this, he quickly stiffened again.

"Whatever," he mumbled, going back out the door.

**(End Of Chapter Four)**

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(A/N): Sorry for the shortness. This and the next one was originally one chapter, but I decided to cut it off. See, I re-wrote chapters four and five coz they were too sappy and cheesy and unrealistic. I hope it's better now! Ugh, I hope this doesn't mess things up later… anyway, review please!

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	5. Dreams Fulfilled, Fears Instilled

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N): The conflict shall become more apparent in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

This chapter is dedicated to **ozumas girl, lord of the potters, SummerlandJM, driven to insanity, cinder, adina, anonymous, creepy clown doll, **and **MishapsErrors**! Thank you so much!

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**(Chapter Five: Dreams Fulfilled, Fears Instilled)**

When Harry got into the Hall, Hermione saw him come in and caught his eye. She quickly made an excuse to get up and briskly walked towards the door, taking Harry's arm and dragging him back out.

"So, how'd it go? You two shag yet?"

"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled, scandalized, "What the hell? What makes you so interested?"

Hermione smiled wickedly. "Oh nothing. I'll take that as a no, then?"

"YES, YOU SHOULD BLOODY WELL TAKE THAT AS A NO!" Harry screamed. But Hermione ignored his outburst.

"Well, did you at least confess your love for each other? THEN you can go off and shag!" she said cheerily, clapping her hands together.

"No! He's still a prick. I'm not about to go all mushy on him."

"Wait…" Hermione said, eyeing Harry. "Are you telling me that you are treating him the SAME as you treated him in Potions? Come on, are you sure you like him? I mean, you know he likes you, what's stopping you from telling him?"

Harry clenched his teeth angrily. "I'm. Not. Giving. In. To. Him. That. Would. Mean. That. I. Am. WEAK."

Hermione shook her head, frustrated. "Boys…" she mumbled, before raising her eyes to Harry's. "Do you realize how foolish you are being?" she hissed, "Draco has a problem. People who cut themselves are very emotionally unstable. YOU of all people should know." Hermione felt bad bringing up Harry's past problem, but felt it necessary to get her point across. "Harry, he likes you. If you verbally abuse him, he's going to hate himself. You've got to be kind, and soothing! Not vulgar and harsh!"

"Whatever," Harry mumbled. "Fine, I'll be NICE." He winced as he said that. His pride tended to get in the way of all his other emotions frequently. "But don't expect me to get all mushy! I'm not READY for that yet."

Hermione nodded in an understanding fashion. "I know how you're feeling. The two of you have been rivals for years; it's not exactly easy to forget all that and suddenly become romantically involved."

"I'm glad you see it my way," Harry said, making a move to go back into The Great Hall. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to bring his majesty some food."

Once Harry turned his back on her, Hermione smiled to herself with satisfaction. "I always knew they had a thing for each other," she whispered, "and now it's finally happening. GO ME!"

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When Harry arrived back at the room, he found Draco staring at the wall with a bored expression on his face. "Finally!" he exclaimed when Harry walked in, "I could've gone to the moon and back in the time that took!"

"Shut up, Malfoy. You're lucky I'm being so nice to you," Harry winced. He couldn't help but be mean; it was automatic! He sighed, putting the food down on the bedside table. "Look," he muttered, not meeting Draco's eyes. "I'm sorry. I've been acting like a complete jerk. I don't want to hate you anymore; I'm so sick of it." he finished, chancing a glance at Draco's face.

His lips were slightly parted and his eyebrows rose in surprise. "That's very nice of you, Potter, but I don't need sympathy from you," he spat finally, once the initial shock wore off.

"Oh COME ON! Must your fucking pride get in the way of everything?"

"Of course," Draco sniffed, rolling his eyes, "yours does too! You're one to talk!"

Harry rolled his eyes right back at Draco. "You're impossible!" he cried, throwing his hands in the air.

Draco smirked. "I'd say that means I win."

"Why is everything a contest with you?" Harry said, sounding defeated.

"Because, Potter, I'm a Malfoy. We always have to be the best," Draco said resentfully, in almost a mocking sort of tone.

Harry sighed yet again. "Just eat. Come on, I'll bet you're really hungry."

Draco nodded. "Gimme the food."

"Pfft, why should I?"

This was going to be a looong day.

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The two spent the rest of the night in Harry's dorm, trying their best to have civil conversation. Suddenly, Draco remembered that other people sleep in the same room.

"How are you going to hide me from the Weasel and all your other friends?" he said suddenly, scared that they would walk in at any moment.

Harry paused thoughtfully. "I'll hide you under my invisibility cloak." He said decidedly, getting out of the chair he was sitting in to find it.

When he did, he placed it on the bed next to Draco, and sat there, close to it. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, both avoiding the eyes of the other. Finally, Draco broke the silence. "I'm sick of hating you, too." He said quietly, looking at Harry through the corner of his eye.

Harry brightened considerably at that. Then, he snorted, "Well, I know you don't hate me anymore. That much became apparent in the bathroom…" Draco scowled.

"So you do remember?" he said, blushing.

"No duh, you dick."

Draco scowled but said nothing. "I'm trying to apologize here!" he said finally, "Must your ruin everything?"

Harry sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry."

Draco nodded in approval. "About time, too."

"Yeah, well I'd rather not have someone who's mad at me sleep in my bed."

Draco blushed at the prospect. "You're not going to make me sleep on the floor?"

"Of course not," Harry chuckled, "you're not feeling well. And besides, someone might tread on you in the middle of the night.

Harry laughed at the horrified expression on Draco's face at the idea of being stepped on while he was asleep.

Suddenly, Harry stopped laughing because he had heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He shushed Draco, who gave Harry a questioning look and opened his mouth as if to ask Harry about his actions, since he hadn't heard the foot falls, but he started to hear them and fell silent, a panicked look on his face.

"What are you going to do?" he mouthed.

Harry bolted off the bed to the floor where he had dropped the invisibility cloak, very inconveniently across the room from where Draco lay. The voices from the stairs got louder and Harry made them out as Ron's and Dean's. Panicking, Harry made a run for his bed, but tripped over the carpet and came crashing to the floor, still holding the cloak.

Closer and closer the voices got until Harry was sure they were already in the room. Harry jumped to his feet and threw the cloak over Draco just before Ron entered the room.

Ron gave Harry a very odd look, taking in his flustered features. "Didn't interrupt anything, did we?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Uh, no, not at all." Harry said, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably. Harry watched as Ron's eyes traveled from Harry's strange appearance to the messed up state of the sheets on Harry's bed (for Draco was still sitting there, making a dent).

"Whatever you say mate." Ron said, with one eyebrow raised. Slowly, him and Dean walked over to their own beds and began to get undressed for bed. Harry did the same, turning his back to his bed, knowing Draco would be watching him. Harry heard Draco made a distinct pissed-off sound, which made Ron's head whip around.

"What was that? Was that you Harry?" Ron said, sounding suspicious again.

"Er, yes." Harry said nervously, "I, uh, can't find clean pants…" and at that Harry pretended to rummage through his trunk and pulled out his pajama bottoms. "Ah, here they are!" Harry mumbled, sounding quite unconvincing. Ron finally turned back around and Harry shot Draco's general direction a death look.

Finally, the other two boys in his dorm arrived and they were all ready to go to sleep. Harry quickly said goodnight, sat on his bed where Draco wasn't, and yanked his hangings shut. Making sure that they were fully closed and him and Draco were completely blocked from view, he cast a silencing charm on the bed and yanked the invisibility cloak off Draco.

"Ugh, _finally!_" Draco exclaimed, sounding relieved, "I was about to suffocate under that thing!"

Harry chuckled and said "Well then Malfoy, we best be getting to sleep, you need your rest."

Draco mumbled something that Harry couldn't hear. "What was that?" he asked, looking at the other teen.

"I said, you can call me Draco… I'm being disowned," Draco blushed. Harry smiled at his display of emotion.

He then raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really?" Draco nodded. "Very well then."

The two looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments, their stares interlocking. The feeling Harry had had earlier that day returned to him, and he remembered why it was he liked Draco in the first place. But, Harry quickly broke the gaze once he realized what was happening. He couldn't let Draco know what he was thinking. Just yet.

"Er… goodnight, then." Harry said awkwardly, eyes downcast.

"Goodnight." Draco echoed, moving over to the opposite side of the bed, as far away from Harry as he could get.

Harry did the same, so they were both facing outwards, their backs to one another. Harry was very thankful his bed was as big as it was; otherwise, they would have to be touching, and Harry was not ready for that. He was afraid he might enjoy it too much. If you know what I mean.

Harry fidgeted a little, trying to get into a comfortable position. _'Great,'_ he thought, _'mere hours after I discover I have feelings for someone I'm supposed to hate, he ends up sleeping in my bed. How long can I last?'_

It wasn't too long before the two of them fell asleep, forgetting where they were

_Draco was in a dark room. All he could see were two little pinpricks of light about three yards away from him. They could only be eyes. Draco was terrified. He did not want to know whom those eyes belonged to. But he knew he was going to find out. The pinpricks got bigger and bigger as their owner strode up to Draco. Suddenly, the lights flashed on and with a gasp of terror, Draco realized who it was in front of him._

"_Master!" he tried to gasp, but he had a large wad of cloth stuffed in his mouth, keeping him from talking. Terrified still, Draco made to move, only to discover his arms and legs were bound together. All he could do was struggle against his restraints._

_The Dark Lord neared him still until he was no more than two inches away from Draco's face. Draco breathed in the sour smell of his master, choking, but since his mouth was occupied, he had to breathe in the smell through his nose. _

"_Draco Malfoy," Voldemort hissed, "I'm sure you will be very useful, if you are wise enough to cooperate with me."_

_Apparently, Voldemort read the confused look in Draco's eye, for he said, "Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about? Well my dear boy, I will just have to inform you." And with that, Voldemort yanked out his wand, and pointed it squarely between Draco's eyes. "You must bring your precious Harry Potter to me, so I can deal with him, unless you wish to end up like his parents."_

_And with that and a blood curdling cackle, Voldemort disapparated..._

And Draco woke up screaming.

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Harry awoke suddenly. He instantly realized that it was screaming that brought him from his slumber. He had no idea who it could have been; he was still groggy from sleep. But then it hit him—it was Draco!

Harry sat upright and crawled over to him. He grasped the other boy's shoulders firmly and shook them, until Draco opened his eyes.

"Wassamatter?" Harry mumbled groggily.

Draco was shaking, looking up into Harry's emerald orbs. "N—nightmare," he stammered, shivering.

Harry frowned, confused. He was still half asleep, and it was taking twice the time as it normally did for things to register in his brain. "Ooh," he said after a moment. "D'ya wanna tell me what happened?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled.

Draco was still shivering, and Harry looked at him with unmistakable concern. "You cold?" he said.

"Y—yes… but mostly just scared."

Harry frowned. "That's not good." He got closer to Draco and wrapped his arms around him. "It was just a dream, it'll be okay." He whispered in Draco's ear.

Draco felt shivers run up and down his spine. He was enjoying this a little too much. When Harry pulled away, Draco immediately started shivering again. "Do you need anything?" Harry asked, starting to get off the bed.

"No, don't go," Draco murmured, grabbing his arm. Harry was slightly thrown off balance by this, and found his chest pressed up close to Draco's, their faces mere inches apart. Yet another staring contest started.

Harry didn't know why this kept happening, but I guess he just found Draco's eyes fascinating. Draco must have felt the same about him, for his gaze was just as strong and mesmerized.

Later, Harry would insist that what happened next was merely a result of the delirium induced by his sleepy state. However, we know better, don't we?

Neither boy seemed to be able to control was he was doing. It sort of just happened. As they drew nearer and nearer, Draco slowly lifting his head off the pillow and Harry leaning in downwards, they each felt a sense of security. This was right.

Harry lazily closed his eyes as his lips met Draco's. It wasn't anything too intense; just the brushing of his lips against Draco's, but Harry couldn't deny how amazing it made him feel. The velvety feeling of Draco's lips melting against his own—it almost drove him mad with pleasure. He felt Draco run his tongue over Harry's bottom lip experimentally, and Harry let out a low moan. Draco shuddered from the sound, and started moving his lips more hungrily.

Harry complied, but it wasn't too long before he needed to come up for air. When they broke apart, Harry still had the same lazy smile on his face, but Draco was grinning far more broadly. All of a sudden, Harry's eyes seemed to un-cloud.

"What… did I… just do…?" He stammered.

Draco looked at him fearfully. "Oh come on, you're not about to tell me you didn't mean to do that."

Harry shuddered. He didn't mean to do that. But now that it had been done… he supposed he didn't regret it.

"No, I did mean to. Look, just forget that happened." He said severely.

"Why!" Draco said, stunned.

"Because… Merlin, I'm not ready for this…" Harry muttered.

"Fine." Draco whispered, going back to the other side of the bed. He jumped in surprise when he felt Harry's arms encircle his waist.

"What was that for?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at Harry.

"So you won't be scared anymore," he whispered back. Draco eventually relaxed into Harry's embrace, and the two fell asleep like that.

Draco didn't have any more nightmares.

**(End of Chapter Five)**

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(A/N): . First kisses are CUUUTE! I'm so, so sorry if that didn't make much sense, but I just re-wrote this whole chapter and the last one. I thought the original version was WAY too sappy. It was unrealistic; in the original, they just accepted each other without any bickering. Let me know what you thought! 

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	6. Slowly But Surely

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically—it says suicide, but it doesn't get that far), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N): Uh, it may seem weird that they're suddenly so friendly to each other, but let's just chalk it up to a silent agreement they made the night before. Harry started to accept his feelings, and that was why he comforted Draco the previous night. Uh, I really hope that makes sense. -Bites her nails- Remember, I completely re-wrote the last two chapters, so that's why it's kinda inconsistent. Sorry!

This chapter is dedicated to **adina, KioneThan, driven to insanity,** **ozumas girl, JAML, angelomaledato, personz-of-da-dungoen, **and** MishapsErrors**! Thank you!

* * *

(**Chapter Six: Slowly But Surely)**

When Harry woke up the following morning, the hangings of his bed were still closed and the silencing charm was still placed. Draco was lying next to him, their arms sill around each other. Draco was looking perfectly angelic with his long blonde hair fanned out on the pillow, and his pale eyelids shut. His mouth was turned up in a rare smile and he looked at peace with the world. '_No more nightmares, huh Draco?'_ Harry thought to himself and smiled.

Slowly, slowly, he eased his arm out from under Draco's sleeping form and sat up. He knew the rest of his dorm was still fast asleep so it was a good time for Draco to make a clean getaway, but he just didn't want to wake him up, he looked so peaceful. Finally Harry got up the courage, seized Draco's shoulders, and gently shook him.

Draco muttered something incoherent, but turned over onto his back and slowly opened his stormy gray eyes. As he set those eyes upon Harry's, his deliciously pink lips turned upwards into a sleepy smile.

"Morning Harry," Draco muttered sleepily. Harry smiled right back at him and fought the urge to kiss him on the cheek.

"Good morning Draco," Harry whispered. Draco moaned and tried to catch Harry's lips in a full and proper kiss, and Harry almost gave in, but he pulled away at the last second and murmured "No… I can't…"

Draco got mad. Now, normally when Draco got this mad he would storm out of the room in a rage, but he made an exception. After all, this was Harry Potter, the boy he had been dreaming about for quite a while. He wasn't about to blow it. He'd get a real kiss sooner or later… most preferably sooner.

"Why?" he complained, "you kissed me last night!"

Harry sighed. "I told you; I kind of regret it now. I'm really not ready for this. Please, just… give me some time." Harry winced. He felt bad for not giving Draco a real reason, but he didn't want to tell him. As it turned out, the last time Harry had been in a relationship with somebody, she used him for a few months and then dumped him. But, that was a whole other story.

"Fine. What will it take?" he said eagerly.

"I feel like I've just met you," Harry said softly, "you're acting so different now that I'm seeing this vulnerable side of you. I need time to get to know you better."

"Okay. Well, go ahead. Ask me questions."

"Sorry, but you have got to leave now. My roommates will be waking up any minute, now is your last chance to make it back to your dorm unnoticed." Harry said sounding quite sad that his new… _friend_ had to leave so soon.

Draco pouted but slowly started to get up. He put his feet on the carpet and rose so that he was supporting himself. Harry watched carefully, making sure Draco was steady enough to walk. He thought he was, but then Draco's knees slightly gave way and he fell back onto the bed. Harry rushed over to see if he was all right, and cradled Draco's head in his lap.

"Oh gods, how are we going to do this?" Harry moaned. He sat there and thought for a minute and then sprang up, dropping Draco's head back onto the bed. "Oh, sorry…" Harry muttered, now digging through his trunk for his invisibility cloak again.

"Come on, let me help you up." Whispered Harry as he carried the silvery cloak over to where Draco was laying. Draco slowly sat up and Harry threw the cloak over the pair of them. Harry put his arm around Draco, and Draco did the same to Harry as they began to walk. As they were slowly creeping past Ron's bed, he made a distinct snort that made Draco jump, which caused both himself and Harry to go tumbling to the floor, making quite a racket.

Harry thought they would be fine, since they were under the invisibility cloak, but oh how wrong he was. The cloak had gotten wrapped around a bedpost, and when Harry and Draco fell to the ground, it got yanked off the top halves of their bodies. And to Harry's horror, Ron turned over to face them. And he had his eyes open. Looking straight at them.

Harry froze, trying to think up an excuse and worrying about Draco at the same time. Ron was just staring. '_He must be in shock I suppose…' _Harry thought grimly. "Uh, Ron? You see…" Harry had begun to say, but Harry noticed that as he stood up, Ron's eyes didn't follow him. Ron had been sleeping with his eyes open.

Harry let out a huge sigh of relief and retrieved the cloak, picking up Draco and throwing it over them once again. The rest of the trip to Draco's room was uneventful, except for the time Draco stumbled and almost stepped on Mrs. Norris's tail. When they reached his room at last, Draco flung off the invisibility cloak and gave Harry a quick embarrassed "thanks" before darting inside and slamming the door. But then Draco had second thoughts and yanked open the portrait hole again.

"Harry! Psst, Harry?" Draco whispered into the seemingly empty corridor. Harry took the invisibility cloak off his head for the sake of Draco to be able to see what he was talking to.

"Yes, what is it?" Harry said, sounding confused.

"I will be seeing you again won't I? We can be friends now, can't we?" Draco said with an upset look on his face, hoping against hope that Harry would say yes.

Harry considered this for a minute, but then turned back to Draco. "I'm sorry Draco, but if we are all friendly in public, people will get suspicious." Harry said sadly. "We must be very gradual about this… we could wind up regretting it."

"But I can still talk to you and be friends right? Even if it's just when nobody else is watching?" Draco said hopefully.

"Well, yes, but then and _only_ then." Harry answered gently.

Draco nodded miserably, turned back into his room, and shut the door behind him. Harry silently marveled at how needy Draco was being. _'Oh well,'_ he thought, _'I was needy too when I used to cut…'_

**

* * *

**

The next week progressed very slowly. Draco and Harry didn't act noticeably different towards one another, but they didn't fight as much either. There was the occasional tiff when they were forced to work together, but at the end of the period, one always gave the other an apologetic smile before leaving the classroom.

It wasn't long before Hermione got fed up and confronted Harry.

"SO!" she said, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder as soon as she was sure Ron was out of earshot. Harry was sitting on his favorite armchair in the common room, reading a book for his homework, and Hermione… she had just been waiting for the room to clear out.

Harry winced when he felt her presence. "Yes, what is it?" he said irritably.

"You know… how did it go with Draco? You never did tell me what happened."

Harry told her about Draco's nightmare, and how he woke up screaming. Then, he reluctantly told her about their kiss.

Her eyes widened, and Harry saw something strange glint behind them. "So… remind me why you aren't in his room making out right now?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not ready for that! Everybody's trying to pressure me into going off with him, but I'm scared!" he exclaimed. "I mean, I've just come to terms with the fact that I have feelings for him… not to mention, I just realized that I'm gay. I'm not ready to have a full fledged relationship with my ENEMY!"

"He's not your enemy anymore!" Hermione argued.

"You're right. But still! You remember what happened _last _time I rushed into things!"

"But this is different, Harry," Hermione said quietly, knowing she was touching on a sensitive subject. "He's not going to do that to you."

"How do you know that? I sure as hell don't! I feel like I'm just meeting him! That's what I told him, at least. I mean, he's being nice, and it's SCARING me. I'm used to him being a prat."

Hermione nodded. "Fine. Just… give him a chance, okay? I'm sure he means well," and with that, she went up to bed.

**

* * *

**

On Monday morning when Harry woke up, the first thing he saw was a white envelope sitting on his night table. He picked it up curiously, wondering who had written him.

He opened it cautiously; afraid of what might be inside. To his relief, it was just a letter. He read over it carefully…

_H,_

_Meet me in the empty charms classroom during lunch. Looking forward to it. Can't wait._

_D._

Harry got very happy very suddenly after reading Draco's note. Now he had something to look forward to the whole day! The bad part was the day would seem so much longer if he were waiting for lunch…

* * *

After what felt like a year, it was finally lunchtime. Harry dashed up the stairs to his room to quickly drop off his things, only keeping his wand in his pocket. He rushed back down and ran all the way to the charms corridor. He was quite keen on seeing Draco, and he wasn't planning on adding any more time to what had already seemed like forever. Finally, he reached the door and opened it slowly. Draco was sitting atop Professor Flitwick's desk, nervously moving his leg up and down in quick, jerky motions. He stopped immediately at the sight of Harry walking in and jumped off the desk. He ran towards Harry and captured him in a heartfelt embrace, which (after a moment of hesitation) Harry returned just as enthusiastically.

"Was it just me or did today seem to drag on forever?" Draco said, sounding exasperated and relieved at the same time.

"Oh no, you are definitely not alone." Harry said sweetly and tightened the embrace. Harry knew this was driving Draco completely up the wall, for Draco wanted more than a friendly hug. Not that Harry didn't, but he just couldn't rush into things lately. What with after last time and all…

But now Draco was talking, which interrupted Harry from his dismal thoughts. "Listen Harry," Draco began tentatively, as if he were walking on eggshells and trying not to break them, "I respect your feelings. I know you don't want to rush into anything. But… aaargh, why do you have to be such a prude!" he said, suddenly reverting back to his impatient drawl. He chuckled at Harry's angered expression. "Just kidding. But, seriously, when are you going to let me…?" He let the question hang in the air, yet managed to make it clear to Harry that he meant business.

Harry gave Draco a weakened smile and shrugged his shoulders nervously. "Uh… I don't know when I'll be ready. The thing is… I've had some things happen to me in the past… and I'm not sure it would be wise for me to rush into anything. For my own mental health I mean."

"You and your sodding mental health!" Draco lashed out suddenly with these words, sounding as if his patience had been tested for the final time. "I don't give a shit what the bloody hell happened in your last relationship! Harry, does this mean you don't trust me? Are you afraid I'm going to _dump_ you? Well I'm not! Does that make you feel any better? I'M NOT!" Draco screamed these last words with such intensity that Harry felt the need to take a step backwards.

At these words, Harry felt his own rage boiling up inside of him. He gritted his teeth angrily, unconsciously making a threatening gnashing noise that made Draco twitch. "You self-absorbed, ungrateful, lying, scheming, traitor." Harry said evenly in a deathly calm voice, taking a threatening step towards the blond, who was sneering back at him. "You selfish TOSSER. Do you think that, just because you have a problem, I'll be able to forget all of mine in order to make you HAPPY? WELL, if THAT'S what you think, you are SORELY mistaken!" he bellowed, shifting his stance so that he was leaning on his front foot.

Draco decided now wasn't a good time to instigate, so he took a step back. "Harry," he breathed, looking his friend in the eye, "calm down. I didn't mean it like that. S-sorry."

"SHUT UP!" Harry screamed, shoving one of the desks in the room against the wall. "Sorry isn't good enough sometimes, Malfoy! Did it ever once occur to you that this might be a bit of a sensitive subject for me! DID IT!"

Draco cast his gaze towards the ground, willing himself not to look at Harry until he was done ranting. When he seemed that he was finished and waiting for Draco to answer him, he finally looked up. "Alright, I get it. I know I'm not the only one with issues, okay?" He took a few steps forward so that there were but a couple of inches between himself and Harry. Draco tentatively raised his hand from where it hung by his side in order to shakily place it on Harry's shoulder in a calming gesture.

Harry's erratic breathing seemed to be slowly returning to a normal speed, and his eyes began to stop bulging. He met Draco's eyes and looked at him uneasily, as if he still wasn't sure weather or not he was being genuine.

"Can I speak now without you freaking out?" Draco asked dryly, letting his hand drop from Harry's shoulder and raising a questioning eyebrow. Harry nodded, slightly apologetically, and sat on the desk that he had previously shoved.

"Good," Draco said a moment later, sitting next to Harry on the desk. "Listen, I know things haven't exactly been easy for you. Hell, that's a huge understatement even. You being… who you are and all, I mean." He said, slightly afraid of the look on Harry's face. To Draco's surprise, Harry seemed to be listening patiently, his green eyes focused on Draco's face. "Anyway, all of your emotions—and I know you have a lot—seem to come out as anger. I know you're going to ask how I know that," Draco said, cutting Harry off from whatever he was going to say, "but let's just say that you learn a lot from obsessing over someone for six years."

Harry looked slightly stricken from these words. "_Obsessing_?" he said incredulously.

"Of course. What'd you think? It's not normal for someone who supposedly hates someone to try to be near them so much."

"Are you admitting to _stalking_ me?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Draco muttered, wringing his hands nervously. "Anyway," he said, thinking it was quite a good time for a subject change. "Do you feel any better? I promise I won't blow up at you again like that. I understand that you need time."

Harry smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, I do feel a bit better. We best be going then, huh?"

Draco smiled back at him, relief flooding his features. Green locked with silver and, without speaking a word, the both knew that they jumped over a huge hurdle in their relationship.

"See you later, then." Draco said. Sliding off the desk and turning back around to face Harry, who was now getting off the desk as well. Draco made to kiss Harry on the cheek, this time not leaving any room for wondering if he was trying to do something more. And that moment was when Harry knew it was time.

Harry turned his head so instead of Draco meeting Harry's cheek, he met his lips. Harry found his hands seemingly involuntarily rising from their spot hanging on either side of him to rest on Draco's shoulders, pulling the other boy closer. Draco rested his hands on Harry's waist as they opened their mouths to one another, allowing their tongues to brush tantalizingly.

Each boy forgot where he was and what he was doing there. All he could concentrate on was the other person whose mouth he was attached to.

Harry allowed Draco to further explore his mouth with his tongue, and Draco complied without hesitation. He ran his tongue over Harry's bottom teeth, then slowly caressed the roof of his mouth. '_I always wondered what he tasted like,' _Draco thought, '_but never did I imagine it would be as good as this.' _Harry's hands slid up into Draco's hair, which, to his surprise, was very soft; like phoenix feathers. Draco's hands slid up as well, underneath Harry's shirt. He felt the toned muscles on Harry's back and lifted his hands up higher, nearly lifting the material off of him altogether. In fact, that is what he was trying to do, but Harry wasn't ready for that yet. His hands untangled themselves from Draco's hair and he grabbed his arms, letting him know he didn't want that now. Draco had no problem with that; they would go there when Harry was ready.

When the kiss ended, the two boys exchanged dazed smiles, not looking forward to the inevitable moment when the relaxed, sated mood in the room would dissipate.

"Harry…" Draco whispered, still in his trance, "Thank you."

Harry responded by blushing lightly and avoiding the blonde's eyes. He then took Draco's hand and they strolled out of the empty classroom, only letting go of one another when they realized people were coming.

**

* * *

**

"But Harry, I thought you said you were going to take it slow?" Hermione was saying to Harry during Transfiguration class an hour later, while chasing a cricket around with her wand, trying to perform the charm on it.

"Well yes, I did say that," replied Harry thoughtfully, "but things changed. He made me feel comfortable Hermione. He deserves to be trusted." Harry said seriously as he followed his insect about.

"Well why the change of heart? I know it takes more than a pair of silver eyes to break _you, _Harry." Hermione continued curiously.

"Well, he said something that got me really mad, but then he was able to effectively calm me down. Which not many people can do, mind you. When I was completely calm, he talked to me a bit and asked me if I felt better after venting my anger. When we were about to leave, he went to give me a kiss on the cheek. That's how I knew it was time, see? He was respecting my wishes. So I decided that I could trust him."

Hermione smiled girlishly and said, "Well I guess that makes sense. But how are you going to hide this relationship from the whole school? You know things like this always end in tragedy." Hermione KNOWS her clichés.

Harry felt dread spill into his stomach like ice water. "Er, well yes, we are going to erm, go public eventually. God, why did you have to bring that up? I don't want to think about it now!" Harry said impatiently, nearly stabbing his bug with the end of his wand. "I don't even know if I consider me and him an 'us,' if you know what I mean."

Hermione smirked mischievously and said, "Oh don't worry Harry, you'll know when you're a couple. Plus, the time will come when you'll know it's a good time to tell people." And with that and an expert flick of her wrist, she became the first in the class to successfully turn a bug into a turnip.

**

* * *

**

It was nearly dinnertime on Saturday evening and Draco was in his room, reading peacefully. He was thoroughly engrossed in the horror novel he was reading, and was aware of little else in the room. Just as he was getting to the scary part, he heard a loud knock on his door.

Draco let out a loud shriek and promptly dropped his book. Then realizing there was somebody at the door, his face turned red at the thought that he or she probably heard him scream. He collected himself and strutted over to the portrait hole, opening it quickly but feeling quite shell-shocked.

When Draco peered outside and saw nobody, he got very impatient and made to slam the door, but then he heard faint laughter coming from somewhere. He whipped around to face the inside of his room, but saw no one. He closed his portrait hole up and sat back down on his chair, retrieving his book. Which presented itself to be a bad idea because he was now very spooked. But, being Draco, he ignored the feeling completely and kept on reading.

Until he felt something grab him from behind.

For the second time that day, Draco let out a high-pitched scream and dropped the book at his feet, whipping around. Nothing. He was just about to turn back around when he heard distinct yet muffled laughter coming from behind him.

But he was not frightened. He let a smirk play across his lips and grabbed at what looked like just air until his fist closed around what felt like silky material. Draco yanked what was in his hand to reveal Harry, standing clad in what Harry clearly thought was a nice pair of trousers and a dress shirt. At this instant Harry could not contain himself anymore. He burst out laughing, falling to the floor and rolling around clutching his stomach like a crazy person.

"Harry!" Draco yelped. "That's not funny! You might have given me a bloody heart attack. Stupid prat…" Draco was muttering nonsense words at his hysterical friend, but couldn't be serious for any longer. Soon after, Draco found himself chuckling lightly just at the look of Harry on the floor like that. It wasn't too long before the flood gates opened, and he laughed loudly and thoroughly.

Finally, the laughter subsided and Draco sat up from his awkward position to wipe his eyes, which had been tearing from the hilarity. He took a moment to notice the getup his friend was in and managed to ask, "Hmph, what's the occasion, Potter." Still trying to sound pissed, although anger was the farthest thing from his mind.

"So kind of you to notice, dear." Harry said sarcastically, rolling his eyes melodramatically. "I'm taking you on a real date tonight. In Hogsmeade." Harry announced proudly, dusting off his trousers from rolling on the floor.

Draco smirked. "That's very sweet of you, but you don't expect to wear _that_ do you?" Draco said with disgust. Clearly the boy had no fashion sense. And he claimed to be gay. _Pfft._

"Hey, what's wrong with it?" Harry said, sounding bewildered as he plucked the material he was wearing on his chest.

"_Everything,"_ Draco declared emphatically. "You seem about my size, I'll fix you up with some _real_ clothes." Draco said, and with that, he took Harry's hand and dragged him to the bedroom.

**(End Of Chapter Six)**

**

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**

(A/N): Eurgh, I didn't like that at all. It's so… fluffy. If you're reading this story, you probably don't like fluff. My apologies. But I did re-write like, half of this chapter. If this is your first time reading this, I'll tell you that in the original version, Harry ended up _crying_ in the classroom scene instead of blowing up. XD I was so young and naïve when I wrote this. I hope you liked it anyway, and feedback is appreciated!

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	7. Close Calls

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically—it says suicide, but it doesn't get that far), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N): This chapter is dedicated to: **ozumas girl, Lenina, creepy clown doll, InsideMyWorld, adina, black-ravenrose, Korritoma, driven to insanity, Elle H. M., APerfektScream, cinder, Harco Potfoy, Blinding Echos, Pure Black, Lusten, twodollartrick,**and **mz psycho**! Thank you all so much!

This chapter is really PWP. OH NO! Ah well, everyone needs their fluff every once in a while!

* * *

**(Chapter Seven: Close Calls)**

When Draco opened his wardrobe doors to show Harry their contents, Harry audibly gasped. Draco had the largest selection of clothes in every style imaginable. It was as if Draco had his own mall.

Draco was eyeing Harry observantly, looking at him then the closet, back and forth trying to assess what would look best. Finally, after much rummaging, he pulled out a pair of black leather pants and a green three-quarter sleeve shirt that was mostly open in the front. He proudly handed his selection to Harry and instructed him to go into the washroom to try them on.

When Harry stepped out five minutes later, Draco couldn't stop ogling him. He looked absolutely _gorgeous. _The leather slacks hugged Harry's body in all the right places. They fit him perfectly. The shirt hung in exactly the right way; Harry's tanned chest was exposed in the front—something in particular Draco couldn't tear his eyes away from. The color of the shirt was great too; it complimented Harry's emerald eyes.

"I couldn't help noticing you dressed me in Slytherin colors," Harry said shyly, obviously very uneasy about his outfit. He was nervously plucking at the material of the shirt, thinking that it was too tight. "You wouldn't be trying to convert me now, would you?"

Draco, however, was rendered speechless by Harry's appearance. All he could do in his gob smacked state was slowly approach Harry and wrap his arms around him. Their affectionate hugging soon turned to snogging, as it sometimes did in their situation. It was very brief, however. They merely grazed each other's lips lovingly, quickly pulling apart, very aware they still had to finish getting ready.

"I guess I look alright then?" Harry said, sounding quite insecure, which Draco found absolutely adorable.

"Wonderful," Draco assured him as he made his way back to the wardrobe to pick out something for himself.

**

* * *

**

When the two boys were all dressed and ready to go, Harry was about to fling his invisibility cloak over himself and Draco, they made their way out of the portrait hole but Draco interrupted him.

"Um, Harry?" Draco asked tentatively.

"Yes, yes what is it?" Harry responded impatiently, trying to see where he was going in the dark hallway.

"Er, how do you plan to _get _to Hogsmeade? I'm sure the doors are locked at this time of night." Draco said suspiciously.

"Oh don't worry, I have my ways," Harry said mischievously as he pulled out an old piece of parchment from the pocket of his pants. Draco gave him a questioning look and Harry went on to explain the wonders of the Marauder's Map. "That's WICKED cool," Draco muttered, which left Harry smiling like a loon. Harry then led Draco to the statue of the one-eyed witch and lifted open her hump. Harry took of the invisibility cloak and dropped it in ahead of him, and then he slid in after it, beckoning Draco to follow.

When they emerged from the long tunnel, Draco looked up to find himself in the cellar of Honeyduke's sweet shop. He was quite confused but he trusted Harry completely, as he seemed very familiar with the path.

They climbed the stairs and entered the deserted store, going straight to the door.

"Harry, where are we going?" Draco asked curiously, wondering if Harry knew.

"Oh, we're going to this lovely little restaurant. It's a little ways away from here, and I have reservations." Harry responded, "So lets walk briskly shall we?"

The boys walked in silence for five minutes, holding hands. There was nobody out to see them so there was no bother in hiding it. They finally came to a nice little restaurant and went inside.

Draco liked the atmosphere a lot; it was quiet and relaxing. In other words: romantic. The hostess showed the pair to their table, ogling Harry unabashedly. When Harry looked the other way (he didn't notice the ogling, as block-headed Harry wouldn't), Draco gave the offending hostess a threatening look, which led her to scamper off in the other direction. The boys sat in companionable silence, just looking at one another and smiling. Draco leaned over the table and kissed Harry on the cheek, whispering "thank you."

Harry merely nodded his head and looked at the menu because the waiter was coming and he didn't want him to see them being all affectionate. After they ordered their meals, the couple sat and looked around the place. It was dark and had a nice relaxing atmosphere, and the air had a perfumed scent to it.

"This place is quite nice, no?" Draco said, still admiring the décor.

"Mmm," Harry said, admiring Draco rather than the building they were in.

"It's quite charming… quaint, actually, would be a better wormmph…" Harry had cut Draco off mid-sentence by leaning forward and breeching the distance between the two of them, allowing their lips to meet in a heated kiss. They were enjoying themselves so much that they didn't hear the soft tinkle of a bell as the door to the restaurant opened.

And they were so involved that they didn't even notice who walked inside.

**

* * *

**

As Hermione stepped into the small dark restaurant in Hogsmeade, she quickly glanced around as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting.

"What're you looking at, 'Mione?" Ron asked her, just walking inside.

"Nothing, just looking around. This is a nice place Ron, don't you think?" Hermione responded, still observing her surroundings. But she didn't hear his answer, because just then, her eyes found something that she did NOT want Ron to see. She saw Harry sitting at a table with Draco and they were _snogging._ No, Ron could not see that. She had to warn Harry, so at least if Ron saw them, the two of them wouldn't be attached by the mouth.

"Er, yes I agree RON." Hermione said loudly, hoping against hope Harry would hear and take a hint. Sure enough, she saw Harry abruptly break the kiss and whip his head around looking at her. Hermione gave him a piercing look and Harry turned around again, hiding his face and frantically explaining to Draco what happened.

Hermione didn't want to ruin her best friend's date, so she quickly asked the hostess for a booth… on the _other _side of the restaurant.

**

* * *

**

Harry sighed with relief as he saw Hermione walk away. She turned her head to look at him once more and gave him a subtle wink, coupled with the mouthing of the words "enjoy yourself." At this moment he was so thankful for having Hermione as a friend.

Shortly after Harry finished explaining everything to Draco, who was quite bewildered, not to mention disappointed that the kiss was cut short; their dinners arrived. They ate in peace, not disturbed by anything for the endurance of their meal. When they left the restaurant, Draco suggested walking down to the lake on the Hogwarts grounds. Harry was quite taken with the idea, so they headed in the direction of the lake.

Twenty minutes later, the boys lay in silence on their backs, gazing upward at the stars. They were holding hands like that, lying on the grass.

"It's quite a beautiful night," Harry whispered, looking at Draco.

Draco turned his head to face Harry and said, "yes, very romantic." They looked at each other, and then back at the lake, whose surface glittered in the starlight, as if thousands of little diamonds were beneath the surface, waiting to be retrieved.

The boys sat up in unison, unwelcome thoughts crossing each of their minds. Harry was the first to speak. "Draco, I really don't think we can go on like this, pretending nothing is wrong and just going about our business as if everything is fine. What happened back at the restaurant… well things like that are just going to keep happening unless we do something about it."

Draco listened, and sighed heavily before replying. "I agree. But we can't just tell everyone about us. Think about how they will react… and my father will get wind of it… and it will be all downhill from there." He said, his voice taking on a saddened tone.

Harry nodded. "Yes, but we must. Otherwise, somebody will just find out. And spread rumors. I'd rather tell everyone than have someone find out without us knowing! That would be so much worse!" Harry had been getting himself all upset and worked up at this point and Draco had been trying to calm him down.

"Harry…Harry…" Draco said calmly, "shush. We'll figure it out. You're right."

Harry smiled and said, "I never thought I'd live to see the day when _Draco Malfoy _told me I was right about something."

Draco smiled back at him and said, "But then again, I bet you never thought you'd live to see the day when I did _this _either_…_" and with that, he grabbed his shoulders and brought Harry's lips to his own.

At first it was gentle and innocent, but then Harry's tongue grazed Draco's bottom lip, drawing a moan from deep in Draco's throat. Draco parted his lips and Harry's tongue slipped in, exploring the corners of Draco's mouth.

Draco fought back aggressively, thrusting his own tongue at Harry's. Harry took it to a whole new level by slowly moving his whole body towards Draco and shifting his weight so he was now straddling him. Draco was now lying down on the dewy grass and Harry had one hand on either side of Draco's head, intensifying the kiss even more.

Draco was sick of letting Harry boss him around, so he flipped over so that Harry was the one laying on his back and Draco was the one doing the straddling. Draco broke the kiss momentarily to draw breath, but then instantaneously re-attached himself to Harry's mouth. The kiss got just as intense as how it was before, when Harry's arms snaked up Draco's back, moving underneath his shirt, feeling Draco's toned back. Harry broke the kiss this time, but only to pull off Draco's shirt. Draco then, in return, pulled off Harry's and they were kissing again, now rolling in the dewy grass shirtless.

Draco's hands moved over Harry's stomach muscles, relishing in how smooth they were. Now nobody was on top; their limbs were intertwined and they were rolling over and over in the grass. Draco momentarily disentangled one of his arms from the mass of body parts to take off Harry's glasses, throwing them aside as if they were a mere annoyance, before continuing what he was doing.

Now Draco's hand moved down to the fastening of Harry's leather pants, fumbling to un-button them. Harry moved his hand over Draco's to stop him, and they broke the kiss.

Harry gave Draco a pleading look. "I'm sorry," Harry whispered, "I'm just not ready for that yet…"

Draco nodded with an understanding look on his face, although it was apparent he was also thoroughly disappointed. "Lets go back to the school, shall we?" He said to Harry.

Harry nodded and said, "Oh, but I think we should get our shirts back on and clean ourselves up a bit first… might look a tad suspicious…"

Draco chuckled as he began to dress himself, and together they walked hand in hand back to the Honeyduke's cellar.

* * *

(A/N) EEK, OOC-NESS! I don't like it, I don't like it at all! Please PLEASE forgive me, I know Draco isn't as sexy when he's nice… I'll make it better later (I hope…) ehe . But don't worry, the plot picks up again next chapter. Please review, Princesspepper likes reviews… (Talking in third person is scary). 

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	8. Coming Out

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (IN THIS CHAPTER! BE WARNEDDDD! o.0), adult language, self-harm, kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing.

(A/N): Thanks to: **ozumas girl, Confused-Gal,**** Jordan/twodollartrick, adina, Pure Black, creepy clown doll, Beloved,** **black-ravenrose,**** Lusten,** **wow, **and **MishapsErrors**!

Bit more of a plot here… sorry for the fluffiness! I had writer's block! Ermmm… one thing… :cough: this chapter has a bit of an _intense_ (sexual) scene. I didn't go into TOO much detail, and it's very brief. Just warning you!

* * *

**(Chapter Eight: Coming Out)**

The next day was quite beautiful, same as the night before. But the weather had nothing to do with what was going on in the castle.

At first the day seemed like it was going to be fine. Harry and Draco both had Charms class first; this year Gryffindor and Slytherin had Charms together. It was such a fun and easy class that it was perfect to have first thing in the morning.

The two boys walked in side by side, but they didn't talk so as not to draw attention to the fact that they weren't hexing the brains out of each other. The class took its normal seats, and Professor Flitwick trotted into the room. He stepped onto the pile of books behind his desk so he could see the class, and he began speaking.

"Today we will learn how to turn porcupines into pin cushions," squeaked Professor Flitwick, "you will pair up with another and I will walk around assisting you. Get to work and remember to concentrate!"

Hermione and Ron automatically chose one another, but Flitwick disapproved, so he put Hermione with Neville and Ron with Harry. Everything went fine—that is, until Ron heard Neville's high-pitched scream as he nearly exploded his porcupine.

"Wow, Neville's got a really girly scream. Ha, he sounds like a bloody faggot!" Said Ron cruelly, looking at Harry, waiting for him to laugh along. Harry just stared on him with a hurt expression on his face.

"Ron… that's not a very nice word." Harry said quietly, fully aware that his suspicions were confirmed about Ron. He _was_ a homophobe.

"What's wrong Harry, why do you want to defend queers? Hm, this is looking quite suspicious you know…" Ron said with a cold glint in his eye.

"Ron… shut up!" Harry yelled suddenly, shoving him into the next desk, but first casting a wary gaze over the room to make sure Professor Flitwick wasn't in sight.

"Why you little…" Ron stammered, approaching Harry and rolling up his sleeves. Harry was terrified. Ron was quite a bit larger than him and could easily beat him up. So Ron drew his hand into a fist, and both of their wands lie on the table forgotten.

Ron drew his arm back and was quite ready to punch Harry in the face, when Professor Flitwick walked back into the room.

"Boys… BOYS!" Professor Flitwick squeaked sounding very distressed, "That will be all thank you! Ron, you work with Pansy and Harry… you work with Draco."

Harry and Draco looked at each other from across the room and exchanged smiles, but then realizing that everyone could see, they quickly changed their grins to glares. Harry picked up his stuff and pretended to look pissed off as he walked over to where Draco was sitting.

When the boys were sure that nobody was watching, as they were all too preoccupied with their porcupines, they began to talk in low tones.

"Harry… meet me in my room tonight. I'm certain you know where it is, judging by the fact you scared the shit out of me last night." Harry smirked at that. "The password's '_conclave de draconis_.'" Draco whispered secretively.

Harry nodded but kept his eyes on his porcupine, which was attempting to jump off his desk. "Alright, what time?" Harry asked while prodding the animal with the tip of his wand.

"Er, around nine maybe?" Draco answered, looking at Harry.

Harry nodded again, but then his face screwed up in thought, as he was not having any success changing his porcupine.

"Aaargh, _what am I doing wrong?_" Harry complained, biting his lip. Draco merely smiled and raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know, but don't do that! You look so adorable when you're frustrated, you're tempting me…" Draco answered, restraint clear in his voice.

"What… oh you mean do _this?_" Harry asked mischievously as he bit his lip again, looking at Draco wide-eyed and innocent.

"Yes – yes that!" Draco gasped.

"Oh, I see. Then I suppose I shouldn't do _this_ either…" Harry said as his free hand slowly traveled under the desk until it found Draco's knee and rested there. Harry watched the look of panic on Draco's face as he slowly made his hand travel up Draco's leg, closer and closer do Draco's growing, um, _problem_ (which, thanks to the robes, nobody could see).

"Harry… Harry… _Harry!_" Draco hissed.

Harry's hand stopped moving as he answered, "What?"

"This is really, _really_ hard!" (No pun intended hahahaha), "I won't be able to resist any longer! Don't make me snog you on the spot!" Draco said, sounding very irritated and turned on at the same time.

"Well go on then!" Harry replied with a laugh.

"Wha—_what?_" Draco asked, shocked.

"You said you wanted to snog me, well go right ahead!" Harry answered, still giggling.

"Harry… _here?_" Draco gasped.

Harry nodded. "Well why not? We both said we'd have to tell everyone eventually; why not let them know with _style_?" Harry said.

Draco laughed, looked around the room to make sure Flitwick had left again, and said, "Alright then, you asked for it Potter!" And with that, Draco grabbed Harry by the shoulders, and quite literally snogged him senseless.

The room went silent and everyone stopped what they were doing as soon as they noticed what was going on in the corner of the room and watched, fascinated. This was quite a kiss. At first it started out slow, but then Draco parted his lips slightly, allowing Harry's tongue to enter. Their tongues teased each other slowly for a while, but then they opened their mouths wider, intensifying the kiss. Hands were roaming, tongues were exploring, and the class was transfixed.

Most of the girls in the room looked delighted and disappointed at the same time. I mean, what straight girl wouldn't want to see the two hottest lads in the school snogging each other? But on the other hand, that meant that they were gay, so that dashes all hopes and fantasies. Especially for Pansy, who looked quite upset.

Some of the boys looked just plain ecstatic, their eyes glued to the two figures in the back of the room. The rest of the boys were either amused or disgusted. You can guess who one of the disgusted ones was. Yep, it was Ron.

But one thing everyone had in common was surprise. That is all except for one person.

Hermione smiled to herself and thought, '_Good job Harry, you're quite brave.' _

When Harry and Draco finally stopped kissing and broke apart, the spell ended and everyone could move again.

"What the _fuck_ was that!" Ron and Pansy said in unison, Ron looking like he was going to throw up, and Pansy looking betrayed and upset. The two locked eyes and smiled.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ron whispered to Pansy.

"Oh yes, I'm pretty sure I am." Pansy responded with a malicious grin on her pug face.

**

* * *

**

After the kiss, Harry and Draco looked at one another, smiling joyously. "I feel so much better now." Whispered Harry, the relief apparent on his face

"Me too—now I can ravish you in public!" Draco declared, moving closer to Harry as if he were going to do so right then.

"Ugh, I dunno about _that_." Harry said, moving away from Draco uncomfortably.

Draco pouted disappointedly and attempted to trip Harry as they walked out of Charms class.

**

* * *

**

A few hours later, it was time for lunch. Draco decided he was going to sit with Harry at the Gryffindor table because he figured Pansy would be very cross with him for his public display of affection in Charms class.

However, as Draco walked into the Great Hall, he discovered that Harry wasn't having such a good time either. He was sitting all the way to one end of the Gryffindor table, resting his head in his hands. His housemates were all on the other side of the table; squashed together as if trying to get as far away from Harry as possible.

Draco walked over and sat next to him, putting his arm around his waist. "Hey Harry…" Draco said softly, giving Harry a quick kiss. Draco then looked at Harry's face and found it to be very obvious that Harry had been crying.

"Come on Harry, who cares about them? They're all prats! You've got me, remember?" Draco said soothingly, making a desperate effort to lift his boyfriend's spirits.

Harry muttered something incoherent, still looking miserable. It broke Draco's heart to see Harry like this. He had no idea what to do, or how to make him feel better.

"What was that, love?" Draco said gingerly.

"He's turned everyone against us Draco, even Hermione! And she knew about us from the start! All my friends have turned on me…" Harry said tearfully.

"It's alright, they'll come around. And until they do, I'm here for you. I will always be here for you." And as if to prove his point, Draco began rubbing Harry's back soothingly.

Harry gave Draco a sloppy smile and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you…" Harry whispered, still sounding quite sad.

When lunch ended, neither Harry nor Draco wanted to leave. Although Draco would not say this to Harry, he knew things could only get worse.

**

* * *

**

Harry returned to his dorm early that night, wanting to get freshened up before he met Draco at nine. It was only seven and Harry was quite tired, so he pulled back the hangings on his bed, figuring he would take a quick nap. When he looked at his bed, however, he found an envelope sitting on his pillow. He approached it carefully; afraid someone might have put a hex on it or something, but then was relieved when he saw his name printed carefully in Hermione's neat handwriting.

He opened the envelope gingerly and unfolded the letter inside.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm so sorry about what happened earlier, and I think I owe you an explanation. It is not my choice to abandon you Harry, you are my dearest friend and I wish only for you to be happy. But Ron has other things on his mind._

_Him and Pansy have blackmailed the entire school; threatened to beat up or hex anyone who dared talk to you. Fortunately for them, they have Crabbe and Goyle on their side, and as you know, they are quite intimidating. _

_Ron is such a homophobe, and Pansy was in love with Draco, so naturally they teamed up to make your lives miserable. I hope no harm comes to you, although I advise you to walk with Draco at all times; there is safety in numbers, although not much in this case. _

_Because I am Ron's girlfriend, he thinks he can boss me around however he likes, and I think now is the right time to tell you that this isn't the first time he has threatened me. I know you probably hate me for this, but although he is a jerk, I still love him. Or at least for now. If this gets any worse, I am going to leave him. In the mean time, I will do all I can to make him change his mind about what he is doing. I think he's being absolutely horrible to you and Draco. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. But you know Ron; he can be quite irrational at times._

_I hope that this is as far as it goes, but I really don't know. I really hope he doesn't try to hurt you, Harry. I would like it if you would tell Draco what is going on; I take it he's probably just as confused as you were. Best of luck to you, and I'll be hoping that no harm comes to you. I'll try to put an end to this nonsense as soon as possible._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Harry's eyes welled up with tears as he read the letter. So this is what was going on? It was all Weasley's fault! Harry was now angry and afraid, and oh boy did he wish Draco were there. Harry had a strong feeling that it was a bad idea to stay in the Gryffindor dorm; he'd have to move in with Draco to his private room (how convenient, eh?).

Harry began throwing things about the dorm, frantically looking for all his possessions so he could leave as soon as possible. He didn't want to look at the miserable Gryffindor colors all over his dorm room. He wanted to see Draco, for comfort and for love. It seemed he couldn't find that anywhere else.

Harry had thrown all of his clothes into his trunk and was now rummaging around under his bed trying to find his invisibility cloak. He threw that in the trunk as well, and slammed it shut with a bang.

Then he grabbed his wand from his bedside table and pocketed it along with Hermione's letter. He began his trek to Draco's room.

As soon as he left Gryffindor tower, who was he to bump into but Ron, the cause of all the misery. And who did he happen to have with him, but Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Why, look, it's the faggot!" Ron yelled down the hallway at the disgruntled Harry.

"Shut up Weasel," Harry said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"Whoa!" Ron said in a fake-impressed voice as Crabbe and Goyle guffawed. "Tough guy are you?"

"Do you realize how much you sound like Draco used to?" Harry said coolly to Ron, which just flustered him more.

"YOU shut up, Potter!" Weasley roared, making Crabbe and Goyle crack their knuckles, trying to scare Harry.

"No, Ronald, I don't think I will." Said Harry icily as he begun to walk on.

"I don't think you're going anywhere anytime soon, Potter," Ron said quietly, placing one hand on Harry's chest to stop him, "we're not done with you yet, isn't that right boys?" Finished Ron, looking at Crabbe and Goyle. They nodded their heads menacingly and took a few steps closer to Harry.

"Well get on with it then!" Pansy shrieked at the big goons. They nodded again and progressed towards a now very frightened Harry.

Crabbe grabbed Harry's arm and snapped it around behind his back and held him there so he couldn't move while Goyle beat the crap out of him. Harry took several punches to the face, giving him an awful nosebleed and several bruises on his previously flawless cheekbones.

Then Goyle began to punch him in the stomach, making Harry double over and moan in pain. Every time Harry flinched, Goyle punched his face again. The beating continued for several minutes, ending with a kick in the groin. Just then, Crabbe dropped Harry to the floor and the four of them walked away, laughing at Harry's beaten form, curled up on the floor, sobbing.

Harry didn't know how long he lay there, but several Gryffindors on their way to the tower walked by. They all shot him sympathetic glances, but in fear of ending up like him, they didn't stop to help him up.

So still Harry lay there, unable to get up from the pain and embarrassment. He did glance at his watch once though, and he found that it was after nine. Draco would be worried about him. And he had good reason to be, too.

So Harry reluctantly lifted himself from the floor and picked up his trunk. After making sure his wand was still in his pocket along with Hermione's letter, he limped off to Draco's room.

When he reached the fifth floor, he stumbled through the deserted hallway, searching for the portrait of Salazar Slytherin. "_Conclave de Draconis._" Harry muttered at the painting. Slytherin nodded his head and opened up. Harry stumbled in, but Draco was nowhere in sight. He dropped his trunk by the door and collapsed on Draco's bed. As he lay down, a door on the other side of the room opened to reveal a smirking Draco.

"Harry, you're late." Said Draco mischievously, but as his eyes found Harry, the smirk disappeared and he rushed over to the bed.

"Oh gods…" Draco said, sounding very shocked. "Harry, what _happened_?" Draco sat down next to Harry and cradled his bruised head in his lap.

"Ron… and Pansy… Crabbe and Goyle…" Harry stammered, still quite shaken up from his ordeal.

Draco felt a pang of guilt as he realized what this must be about. "Harry… oh, Harry I'm so sorry…" Draco whispered.

"'S not your fault…" Harry said in confusion. "You didn't do anything."

"Harry, I never should have kissed you in Charms. All of it is my fault. It's my fault you got all beat up. It's my fault your friends are ignoring you. You would be better off without me…"

"Draco, no… don't think like that. It's not all your fault. I told you to kiss me. I don't know what I would do without you…" Harry said tentatively, quite afraid Draco was going to get suicidal again.

But Draco's face broke out in a grin and he kissed Harry hard on the lips. Harry was quite pleased, but he moaned in protest because his face was still sore from his beating. Draco pulled away and smiled sheepishly. "Heh, sorry, couldn't resist…"

Draco got up to retrieve his wand and walked back to Harry's side, slowly charming the bruises on his face away. "Now where else did those brutes hit you?" Draco mumbled.

"Er, they twisted my arm around… I think it's all right though. And they punched me in the stomach. A lot." Harry answered.

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment and then gently poked Harry's stomach. Harry groaned in response. "Those bastards…" Draco mumbled. He unbuttoned Harry's shirt and removed it completely to examine the damage. He saw several bruises on Harry's chest and stomach, and he was sure there was more damage he couldn't see. He then healed Harry's stomach wounds and poked him again. "Did that hurt?" Draco asked.

"Nope. Wow, you're good at that." Harry said, amazed at Draco's healing skills.

"Yeah, well that's not the _only_ thing I'm good at you know…" said Draco with a mysterious smile. "Oh, I suppose I can be less, er, gentle now that you're healed?" Draco added with a smirk.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and spread his arms. "I'm yours."

"Good, because boy have I got plans for you…"

Draco rolled over so that he was completely on top of Harry, one hand on each side of his head. "You know, Harry," Draco began, "this is the first time there was somebody in my bed who I actually wanted there."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Who else has been here? And why did you _let_ them?"

Draco sighed. "Mostly just Pansy. I don't know… I always knew I was gay… I was afraid to tell Lucius. I guess it was a diversion… I don't know what I was thinking."

"So did you two…?" Harry asked, slightly afraid of what the answer would be.

"Yuck, no. We just fooled around a little. Nothing serious." Draco said, sounding disgusted. "But believe me, I never enjoyed it. Ever."

"Well forget that. Now where were we?" Harry said, eager to pick up where they had left off.

Draco leaned in closer, so Harry felt his hot breath on his face. "Right here I believe. Now shut up and kiss me." Draco said stubbornly.

Harry parted his lips to say something, but Draco got impatient and covered his mouth with the long anticipated kiss. Draco teased Harry's lips with his tongue so Harry would part them, and Draco thrust his tongue into Harry's mouth, fighting hungrily for more. Harry complied happily, contributing his own tongue into the battle.

Their tongues fought for dominance, and Draco won. So he broke the kiss gently, moving on. Harry moaned from disappointment that the kiss ended so soon. But Draco was nowhere near finished. He locked eyes with Harry, and then gently started kissing down his jaw line. He reached his neck and chose a patch of exposed skin. He gently bit and sucked on it, drawing a moan from deep in Harry's throat. He didn't stop until he was sure it would leave a nice red mark of possession. Then he slowly moved down to Harry's bronze chest, trailing kisses down there. He stopped a few times to lick or bite, which he only did because he enjoyed hearing Harry moan.

He kissed all the way down to the waistband of Harry's trousers. He placed his hand over the fastening and began to fumble with it. He was having trouble getting it open, and Harry was getting impatient. So he decided it was time to turn the tables.

When Draco was least suspecting it, Harry grabbed him by the shoulders and flipped him over so now Harry was on top. Draco yelped in surprise, but then smirked at his partner's ferociousness. "Eager, aren't we Potter?" remarked Draco, smirk still plastered on his face.

Harry shut him up by kissing him hungrily, then mimicking Draco's actions, first by kissing along his jaw line, then giving him a love bite on his neck. Draco, however, still had his school shirt on, so Harry eagerly ripped open the buttons and threw the shirt across the room. He took a lot shorter in making his way down to Draco's navel, where his pale skin disappeared into his pants. Harry nimbly unbuttoned Draco's trousers and pulled them off in one swift movement, leaving Draco lying quite vulnerable. From his position on the bed, Draco reached up and undid Harry's pants, and pulled them off so now all they had on was their boxers.

They began snogging again, limbs tangling together, rolling around on the bed. They were quite enjoying the feel of skin against skin, and the combined heat of each other plus the activities they were partaking in caused them to sweat slightly. It glistened on their chests, making it easier to slide against one another.

"Draco, I can't take this anymore," Harry panted, after breaking their kiss. His hand traveled down to the elastic of Draco's boxers.

"Harry, are you sure you're ready for this?" Draco asked seriously.

"Don't I _look_ like I'm ready?" said Harry impatiently, gesturing.

"Er, yes, I suppose," said Draco as he looked down, a blush creeping into his cheeks. "You, er, don't want to… you know… do you?"

"Er, I suppose not yet. No, not yet," Harry stuttered, flustered. "But that doesn't mean we can't 'fool around,'" he finished mischievously after maintaining his composure, mimicking what Draco had said before.

"Very well then." Draco said, and he slowly pulled down Harry's boxers.

**(Kyaaaa! Slashy scene ahead. Avert your eyes if you're uncomfortable…)**

Draco reached forward and wrapped his fingers around Harry's length, causing Harry to gasp in surprise. Don't ask me what he was expecting, but he wad definitely not expecting _that_. Draco smirked at the reaction he was getting and began to slowly build up a pace.

When he felt Harry harden further, he went faster and faster, enjoying the sound of Harry's panting and the feel of Harry's heart rate quickening against his own chest. After a while, Harry could no longer keep his eyes open. He let them slide shut, and his only movement was the occasional buck of his hips when Draco changed his pace.

"D—Draco… I'm going to—"

Draco cut him off by pressing his lips to Harry's. "Ssh, I know. Don't hold back…"

Harry's eyes squeezed shut particularly tightly, and his muscles seized up as he experienced his release in Draco's hand.

Draco watched Harry as he fell back against the pillows, breathing heavily. Once his chest stopped heaving madly, he opened his eyes and looked up at his lover. "Draco, that was—"

"Amazing?" Draco interrupted cockily. "I know. I'm rather good, aren't I?"

"Stop being an arrogant bastard," Harry said jokingly, lunging at Draco.

"Ack! What're you doing?"

"Returning the favor," Harry said simply, plunging his hand into Draco's pants.

**(You can look now)**

**

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**

A half hour later, the two boys lay on the bed naked, panting and sweating, but very satisfied. Harry rolled over and kissed Draco on the cheek before getting up and slowly putting his clothes back on. Draco did the same, and then Harry walked back to the bed and sat down, gesturing for Draco to do the same.

Draco sat down, and Harry began talking, "Now that we're done with _that_…" Draco smirked at that. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm scared to go back to Gryffindor tower. I have a feeling Weasley will do something to me every time he sees me." Draco nodded as Harry said this, showing he understood. "And I feel kind of funny asking you this, but is it alright if I stay here with you from now on?"

Draco's smile widened with every word Harry said, positively delighted at the idea of Harry staying with him. "Of course you can stay. I would want you to even if Weasley weren't being a jerk. Harry, you're welcome here any time."

Harry grinned widely and hugged Draco. "Thank you… it means a lot to me. I already have my stuff here. I think I'll unpack." Harry gave Draco another quick kiss before getting up to retrieve his trunk from the door.

After Harry was done going through his trunk, the boys stripped down to their boxers (again) and climbed into bed. They were both quite sleepy from all that happened that day, so they settled down quickly, very ready to go to sleep.

They kissed briefly, brushing lips, before they shut the light. "Goodnight Harry." Draco whispered, already half asleep.

"'Night Draco," Harry yawned, half asleep himself.

A moment of silence passed. Then, "Harry?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"I love you."

That took Harry by surprise. He didn't see that coming at all. "Wh-what did you say?"

"Harry, I said that I love you." Whispered Draco, slightly afraid of the reaction he would get. He got even more scared when Harry didn't answer for a while. "Ha-Harry? Did you hear me?" said Draco, a bit louder.

"Yes." Harry whispered.

"Well aren't you going to say anything?" Draco mumbled.

"I…" started Harry. He was very nervous. Nobody ever told him that they loved him before. Except for his parents he supposed, but he didn't remember that at all. It wasn't that he didn't love Draco back; he was positive he did. He was just afraid to say it. Last time he had said those words, they hadn't been returned to him… and then she left him. He didn't want to make himself vulnerable like that again. But he felt like it was going to bust out of him if he didn't say _something…_

"Harry?" Draco said tentatively.

"Draco, I love you too." Said Harry, louder than he had intended, startling Draco.

"Well, that's a good thing then…" the relief was apparent in Draco's voice; he had been afraid he would be left hanging.

"I'm sorry, it's not that I wasn't sure of it. I am. I just… last time I said those words, things didn't turn out very pleasant. It ended in a rough breakup, to say the least," Harry said, trying hard to ward off the memory.

"Harry, I'm not going to leave you. Ever. Did you hear me? I am _never_ going to leave you. That's what love is." Draco's voice faded out as Harry captured him in another kiss.

The boys fell asleep with their arms around each other. Harry was completely peaceful; he was content with where he was and how he felt. Draco, on the other hand, was fitful in trying to fall asleep. His body was perfectly still so as not to wake Harry, but his mind was another story.

He had promised Harry that he would never leave him. He didn't want to leave him. That's the last thing he wanted.

But he knew it was going to happen.

**(End Of Chapter Eight)**

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(A/N) Eck, I dunno if I should have posted that scene here… now I'm paranoid about getting kicked off. 

As for Draco's password, I had no idea what to make it so I decided on doing something in Latin. "_Conclave de Draconis_" basically means "Chamber of the Dragon" in Latin. I hope I translated it right, I wasn't sure, so I apologize to anyone who knows I'm wrong, and I would appreciate it if you would let me know what the real Latin translation is. Just thought I'd mention that (btw, I don't know Latin, so I apologize if that was translated to English incorrectly). Again, so sorry for how long it took, and I'll get the next chapter up soon. Review please! Until next time,

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	9. Tables Turn

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: This chapter may be NC-17 as well…

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content, adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically—it says suicide, but it doesn't get that far), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing.

(A/N): Yeah, I wrote a :limey: scene for this chapter. But then I realized I shouldn't post it here! If you'd like to read the lime (blowjobs! YAY!) go to my account at I have the same penname. Yup. Too limey for thanks to: **ozumas girl,** **BlindingEchos, Beloved,twodollartrick, Pure Black, fishnetfairy, driven to insanity,** **Justajester, Elle H. M.,Confused-Gal,** **Adina, black-ravenrose,Scott Darkfire,** **Lusten, **and**MishapsErrors**!

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**(Chapter Nine: Tables Turn)**

"_So we meet again, Mr. Malfoy?" a cold voice said to Draco._

_Draco had no idea where he was; he was quite disoriented. He looked around the dark chamber and saw the shadow of a door far, far away. He was scared. He began to run towards it, but it seemed as if the faster he ran, the farther away it got. Draco cried out in frustration, causing the cold voice to cackle._

"_You can run but you can't hide, Draco," sneered Voldemort, "you know it's your fault…" _

_And with that, the lights flashed on. Draco looked down to the floor to find Harry, dead at his feet. Draco dropped to the ground, sobbing. Then he got up and glared at Voldemort, anger radiating. _

"_YOU. DID. THIS!" Draco cried venomously._

_Voldemort merely cackled again, approaching Draco, seemingly staring right through him with his red pupils. "You are wrong, Draco. It's all _your_ fault. His blood is on your hands…"  
_

_Draco looked down only to discover that Voldemort was quite literally right. His hands were covered in blood, as was the front of his shirt. He examined Harry's body closer to see Draco's favorite dagger protruding from his still chest._

"_NO!" Draco cried out._

"_Yes, Draco, YES." Whispered Voldemort. He raised his wand to finish the sobbing boy off, and Draco screamed…_

"Draco… DRACO!" Draco opened his eyes to find Harry leaning over him, much to his relief. Draco already knew he had been screaming out loud, and he had tears in the corners of his eyes.

"It was only a dream…" Draco whispered. Then he flung himself at Harry, knocking him over with the force of his embrace. He begun kissing him all over, so thankful that he was not dead.

"Draco… Draco… what happened?" Said Harry, giggling in between words for Draco was still kissing him and it tickled quite a bit.

"Another awful dream…" Draco whispered. Harry looked quite sympathetic as he grabbed Draco and forced him back into a laying position.

"I know how you feel. I had a ton of nightmares in the beginning of the year, about Sirius and all… it's awful. I'm assuming you dreamed about me?" Harry said.

Draco nodded and continued to kiss Harry. Harry looked at the clock and saw it was nearly four thirty in the morning.

"We should get back to sleep, love," Harry began, reluctant only because he was enjoying being kissed, "we've only got another two hours before we must wake up."

Draco nodded and got into a more comfortable position, but then held out his arms so Harry would fall into them. He complied, kissing the top of Draco's head possessively.

"Harry, don't let go. I don't think I'll have bad dreams if you're holding me." Draco whispered. Harry nodded and turned around, his arms still around Draco. And Draco slept peacefully for the rest of the night.

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When Harry woke up to the sound of the alarm clock, he found that he was in the exact same position as he was when he had gone to sleep. Draco was still asleep peacefully in his arms. The alarm clock hadn't woken him up. Harry carefully turned off the alarm clock and pondered how to wake Draco up gently.

He settled for kissing his forehead. Sure enough, Draco begun to stir and opened his eyes. He smiled warmly at the sight above him; always happy to wake up to the man he loved. They slowly got out of bed, and headed towards the washroom to take a shower. Together. And lets just say, it was the best shower either of them had ever partaken in.

Later, they headed down to breakfast, holding hands. The rest of the day went on as usual; being shunned by their peers, sitting at tables alone, finding empty classrooms to, er, _talk._ Yeah, that's what they were doing.

After dinner, the two boys were heading back up to Draco's room. When they were halfway there, Draco stopped suddenly.

"Oh, sod it all! I forgot my bloody Charms book in the Great Hall!" Draco complained.

"Would you like me to come with you?" offered Harry.

"Er, no, it's alright. I'm a big boy, I think I can get it by myself." Said Draco resentfully. "You go on ahead without me."

"Alright then, see you in a few." Responded Harry. It was strange for Harry to walk alone, as he and Draco had seemingly been attached at the hip all day. But Harry continued his way to Draco's room. And who was he to meet on his way up, but Ron, of course.

"Potter! Hello there!" Ron said menacingly. "Couldn't help but notice you didn't turn up in the dorms yesterday. I take it you were spending the night with your _boyfriend?_" he finished.

In fear of another beating, Harry kept his eyes down and tried to keep going, hoping that Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't show up. But luck just wasn't going Harry's way these past few days…

And before Harry knew it, he was lying on the floor again, after suffering another cruel beating. This time he was just whimpering with pain, although the wounds were much worse. _Good,_ Harry thought, _at least I'm starting to get used to it._

He lay there and waited for Draco to come by, for he was fairly sure he couldn't move if he tried. After five minutes that seemed to last an eternity, he heard approaching footsteps, which got progressively faster once their owner caught sight of him.

"HARRY! Oh no, not again! I walk away for _ten minutes_ and this is what happens!" Draco was practically crying as a reaction to seeing Harry in this state.

"Draco, stobbit," said Harry through a heavy bloody nose, "Ibs not your fault. Now could you blease helb be ub?"

"Yes, yes of course. And I think you should see Madame Pomfrey this time, it looks more serious…" So Draco hoisted Harry to his feet and let him lean on him. Draco led Harry to the Hospital Wing, and was greeted at the door by a very distressed Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh dear, that looks painful. Right this way…" she said as she bustled about getting a bed ready for Harry.

"Mister Malfoy, you can go. This shouldn't take too long. I'll send Harry up to you when he's all better." Said the medi-witch brusquely.

Draco nodded and headed off, looking at the ground ashamed. When he got up to his room he felt the wave of depression threatening to take over.

_It's all my fault. It is all my fault. It is all my fault. Everything is my fault. It's all MY fault. IT'S ALL-MY-FAULT!_

Draco's conscience was taking over his entire brain as he was pacing the room. _Harry would be better off without me. EVERYONE would be better off without me…_

Before Draco knew what he was doing, he found himself in the washroom reaching into the third draw from the top… and for once he had to think twice.

_I promised Harry I would never do that again… but he's hurt… and it's ALL MY FAULT…_

So Draco pushed his doubts aside and pressed the familiar blade to his skin…

When he was finished, Draco sighed with relief. He had done something wrong and now he had paid for it. All was well. He heard the portrait to his room swing open and got startled; dropping his knife to the floor with a clatter.

"Draco! I'm back and I'm all better! Madam Pomfrey did a great job! Where are you?" Harry asked suspiciously, noticing Draco was nowhere in sight.

Draco panicked. He couldn't let Harry find out he was doing this; he would go bonkers!

"Oh, hi Harry!" He shouted through the door, "I'm just in the washroom! I'll be out in a minute!"

Draco had to destroy the evidence, and fast. He quickly picked the blade up from the floor and whispered a cleaning charm. He looked around for any other clues and he found a few drips of blood on the floor. He cleaned that too. Then he clotted the bleeding on his arm and put a temporary concealment charm on it. He stuffed the knife back in the drawer and slammed it. Then he casually opened the door and strolled out.

When he saw Harry, he strode over to him quickly and caught him in an embrace; he was so happy that he was better.

"I'm so glad you're alright…" Draco whispered, kissing Harry.

"Mmm…" Harry said distractedly. He could tell there was something fishy going on; he just didn't know what.

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The next day during lunch, Harry and Draco decided they were going to walk about the school instead of sitting in the Great Hall. They figured the hallway would be deserted, so they wouldn't be bothered. Well, they were wrong.

Ron and his new best mates decided to roam too, plotting new ways to make Harry's life miserable. Sure enough, when the three rounded the corner, they came face to face with none other than the subject himself.

"Well, well, well…" said the Weasel quietly, "boys, it seemed we have stumbled across young Mr. Potter and his boyfriend taking a stroll. Well what a coincidence, that's what we were doing as well."

"Beat it, Weasel," sneered Draco, attempting to intimidate the three, although he knew there was no chance Harry and himself would walk away unharmed.

"Don't take that tone with me, _Malfoy,_" Ron sneered right back, glaring at the unfortunate couple.

"God, Weasley, you sound just like me," marveled Draco.

At this point, Ron was through with the chitchat. "Crabbe, Goyle, GET HIM!" He screamed.

Draco braced himself for punches, but to his surprise, they only went for Harry. They pinned him against the wall and began punching him in the face over and over… Draco couldn't watch; it hurt too much. But at the same time, he heard Harry's muffled cries and knew he was just standing there while someone he loved dearly was getting pummeled. So he did something quite unexpected…

_THWACK!_

Ron's head snapped around in shock at what Draco had just done. It seemed as if he had punched Goyle full in the face, and hard! Goyle had fallen back and was holding his face in his hands, blood from his nose streaming through his fingers.

They were making quite a lot of noise, and Ron heard approaching footsteps, so he figured now was the right time to make a clean getaway. "Don't think this is over Malfoy, you might have saved your boyfriend this time, but we _will _get you for this—both of you!" and with that, Ron and his "gang" stormed off.

Draco turned his attention away from the retreating figures and looked at Harry, who had his mouth agape.

"Well no need to thank me," Draco said sarcastically. But then he paid closer attention and discovered that Harry wasn't looking at his face… _he was looking at his arm._

Draco looked down at himself and realized in horror that the concealment charm he had placed upon his arm had worn off, and his sleeve was hiked up from punching Goyle. Harry had seen the new wound.

"Harry…" Draco said gently. But it was too late. Harry had broken off into a run… in the _other_ direction.

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Harry's POV .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

Draco wasted no time in tearing off after me, but it was no use, I was a much faster runner. We streaked through the hallways of the school, however aimlessly, little did he know. I had no idea where I was going, or where I _could _go, for that matter. I was mad and upset at the same time.

He had _promised_ me he would never cut again. I didn't want to lose him. Never. But he had gone and done it. And at the same time I knew that if I just left him like I wanted to, he would slit his wrists! I wouldn't be able to bear that. I loved him so much. And on top of that I would have to live with the burden of knowing it was my fault. So I just ran.

The only place I had to go was our room; I couldn't go to Gryffindor Tower. He would corner me there, but I had no choice. I put on an extra burst of speed until I turned so many corners I couldn't see him anymore, then I ran to our room. I panted the password at the portrait and stumbled in, collapsing on the bed into sobs. I knew it was only a matter of minutes, maybe even less, until he caught up with me, but I didn't care.

Sure enough, not three minutes later, the portrait swung open again. I heard heavy breathing; he had been running after me the whole time. But I did not look up. I was still sobbing into the pillow.

His footsteps slowed as he neared me. I could tell he had no idea what he was going to say. As he sat next to me, I felt the reluctance. I could sense everything he was doing. Now he was holding his hand over my back, debating weather or not he should touch me.

So I saved him the trouble. I suddenly sat up and turned around, meeting his gaze. His eyes were pleading; he wanted me to forget what I saw. There was no chance of that.

"Draco—y-you promised me you would n-never do that again!" I said angrily in-between sobs. And believe me, it is hard to sound angry when you are crying.

He just looked at me, completely gob-smacked; mouth unattractively agape, looking like a goldfish out of water.

"Harry…" he said finally, "it was all my fault you got hurt. I had to do something, I had to…" but he stopped, realizing he was making no sense.

"That's no excuse," I said defiantly, "you promised me, and now you broke your promise. What else have you lied to me about Draco?"

"Oh… not much Harry," he said softly. "Please, don't be angry. I-I did it because I love you."

"Got a nice way of showing it don't you?" I said, seething, "breaking your promise, and trying to take yourself away from me…" I continued bitterly.

"Harry, please!" Draco cried, now desperate, "Forgive me! I'll never do it again!"

"Hm, this sounds familiar," I said coldly, "how do I know if you're telling the truth _this _time, Draco? How?"

But then he looked at me. With _those_ eyes. And I couldn't be mad at him anymore. It was as if all of a sudden, all my insides turned to jelly. I believed him.

Draco smirked, realizing the effect he had on me. "Well, I'm glad that's over. We're doing pretty well, huh? We've only been together for just over a week and we've already had two fights! It's a sign! We must be in love!"

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Normal POV .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

Harry smiled, but then mock-pouted. He threw his arms around Draco and then whispered in his ear, "Now aren't you going to heal me? After all, it is _all your fault…_" He said, making Draco realize just how foolish he had been.

He shoved Harry off of him, muttering something incoherent under his breath. Harry had an overly exaggerated hurt expression on his face as he said, "Ow, Draco! You hurt me!" Harry started laughing to himself while Draco glared in what he was obviously trying to make look like anger. But Harry knew better.

But then Draco pulled out his wand and started healing Harry's wounds. When he was finished, he looked at the clock; only to discover their next class had already started.

"Bloody hell! Look at the time!" Draco exclaimed, "Hey, what do you say we skive off the rest of the day? We could owl McGonagall and tell her we're not feeling well." Suggested Draco.

"Mmm, splendid idea darling," Harry responded, "so now we can talk about what happened."

Harry laughed when Draco made a face. "You know full well I'm not going to let this go until we talk about it."

Draco nodded submissively as he leaned back onto the pillow, readying himself for whatever Harry was going to throw at him.

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Well to tell you the truth, the boys did a lot more than just talk. They managed to find a lot of other things to do with the rest of their day. But they did manage to accomplish quite a bit of talking as well, and now they had come to an understanding and agreement.

After much prodding and poking, Harry had gotten Draco to tell him what he felt before he cut. Draco had said that he felt like everything was his fault and that he had to punish himself for what he had done. Harry explained to him that it is a perfectly normal feeling to think that everything is your own fault, and there are other ways to express that.

As an exercise, Harry told Draco that next time he felt the urge to cut; he should channel that thought and energy into something more productive. That is how Harry got himself to stop, although Draco didn't know about that.

After they were done with the inevitable talk, it evolved into a snogging session, which things concerning them often did. But then that turned into something much different, and lets just say the whole thing ended with a whole lot of panting and sweating (what fun).

Eventually, it was time for dinner and Harry and Draco headed down to the Great Hall. When they arrived, they discovered that, as it always was lately, that when Harry and Draco went to sit down at the end of the table, everybody else moved over, getting as far away from them as possible.

Harry started to get very discouraged, but Draco put his hand on Harry's shoulder comfortingly and whispered in his ear, "Don't let them get to you…"

Harry nodded and took a seat. Dinner pretty much went about as normal… well that is until Ron started taunting Harry from across the table, clearly trying to get them back for what had happened earlier.

Weasley wasn't talking to Harry exactly; he was more like shouting things to everyone else at the table loud enough for Harry to hear.

"…And then you know what I realized? Potter hadn't been in Gryffindor Tower the entire night! He had probably stayed over at his _boyfriend's_ room!" roared Ron, staring expectantly at the rest of the table. They chuckled lightly, so as to not invoke the wrath of Weasley. The taunting continued… that is, until Hermione couldn't take anymore.

"RON, THAT IS _IT!_" she screamed, startling the Weasel horribly.

"But Hermione!" said Ron, still shocked, "everyone else finds it funny! Potter doesn't care, he's over there with his faggot boyfriend!"

Now that was really the last straw for Hermione. She jumped up from the table and smacked Ron full in the face. Then she calmly walked over to where Harry and Draco were sitting, and took a seat next to Harry.

"Hi, Harry." She said as if everything was normal; as if she hadn't just stood up to her boyfriend, the current bully of the school.

All eyes were on Ron, waiting to see what he would do next. He just sat there dumbly, face red from where Hermione hit him, completely gob-smacked. Nobody wanted to move. The Hall was completely still for a few minutes. Finally, Ginny broke the spell. She got up from her seat, smacked her brother across the other cheek, and went to sit next to Draco.

Before Ron realized was going on and could do anything to stop it, every Gryffindor was getting up and sitting on the other side of the table, leaving Ron isolated as Harry and Draco had been the last couple of days. Then dinner continued as normal, as if nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary.

Harry was beaming for the rest of the night. "I hope this doesn't mean you're moving back to Gryffindor Tower," murmured Draco when nobody was listening.

"Not a chance." Harry said, pecking Draco on the cheek. Draco was thrilled that Harry was so happy.

But at the same time he knew that it couldn't last.

**(End Of Chapter Nine)**

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(A/N) Erm, right:-) Ehe, this chapter sucked, I'm sorry (not to mention it took forever to post…). I tried to make it better, but I couldn't do much without changing the actual events. Review please, it's appreciated. Until next time,

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	10. Deserted

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content, adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically—it says suicide, but it doesn't get that far), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing.

(A/N) Eh, the chapter title is sooo random. It's just what the word processing program I'm using decided to call all the pages. O.o don't ask. Ehe, okay. So…!

Thanks to: **Pure Black, twodollartrick,** **Beloved, in aCRIMSON love, Confused-Gal, black-ravenrose, clear venom, BlindingEchos, Dru Black, Lusten,****ozumas girl,** **adina, fleep, **and **dreamerdoll**!

**(Chapter Ten: Deserted)**

Draco was having nightmares again. He knew that as soon as one horror ceased, another began. Tonight Draco had slept alone because Hermione had insisted that Harry go to the hospital wing to make sure that there had been no permanent damage done in the last fight with Ron, so Draco was utterly alone. And frightened beyond all reason.

He missed his Harry even though he knew he would be back soon. He had become accustomed to sleeping with him in his arms every night, and without him he felt like he was not complete. When he woke up from one of his horrid dreams, there was no Harry hovering above him, making him realize that it was just a nightmare.

No, after that last nightmare, Draco was convinced it wasn't a dream, but instead terrible reality. He looked around the room for Harry, but all he found was his scent on the pillow next to him and his things on a chair across the room. He felt so lonely.

Draco got up and walked over to the chair, on which Harry's clothes were draped. Draco lifted Harry's bathrobe and embraced it lovingly, wishing it were Harry instead of just his clothing. Draco stripped down to his boxers and put on Harry's robe. The soft material caressed his bare flesh and made him feel a little better. It was so comforting wearing the robe, it was a bit too large on account of Draco was a little smaller than Harry, but it still felt just right.

Draco returned to his bed, hoping that now that he was surrounded by Harry's scent, he could pretend that he was there.

It didn't work.

As soon as Draco closed his eyes, images from his dreams came flooding back to haunt him. Harry lying strewn across the floor with vacant eyes staring up at him. Harry clinging to Draco's ankles, pleading as Draco stabbed him and Voldemort laughed.

'_I need to see Harry,'_ Draco thought silently, staring at the ceiling, '_RIGHT NOW.' _And with that, Draco jumped out of bed and rushed to the door, grabbing Harry's invisibility cloak on the way out. As he picked it up, something shifted and he heard something small and hard fall to the floor. He looked down to see his pocketknife on the ground. He hesitated, but then quickly picked it up and shoved it in the pocket of Harry's robe. Who knew what he would run into in the hallway? He ran all the way to the Hospital Wing and burst through the doors into the deserted ward.

_Deserted…_

Harry wasn't there. Draco ran from bed to bed, but he was quite sure Harry was not in the room. One of the beds had thoroughly messed up sheets. He rushed over to it, cast of the invisibility cloak, and flopped onto it. It _smelled_ like Harry. But where was he? Draco NEEDED to see him. He was panicking.

"Harry, where are you? Where are you…?" Draco sobbed. He didn't know why he was reacting so strongly to this. When he thought about it later, he figured that the foolishness was due to the dreams he just had, making him extra sensitive. But at the time, all Draco could think was, '_It is all my fault… it is all my fault…' _And before Draco knew what he was doing, he had broken his promise to Harry _yet again_ and his blood was dripping onto the floor. He hadn't cut that deep, but he didn't do anything to stop the bleeding. He poked absently at the wound when it began to clot, causing it to bleed more.

Eventually, Draco began to feel the blood loss, and just as he was about to give in to the darkness he heard footsteps…

It was Harry.

"Draco… Draco? What are you doing here?" Harry hissed; unaware that Draco was bleeding because of how dark it was in the room.

Draco merely moaned and turned over, sliding onto the floor slowly. Harry felt his heart pounding in his throat as he ran over to Draco's crumpled body.

"You did it again didn't you?" Harry whispered, sounding horrified. He didn't wait for an answer but rather pulled up the sleeve of his robe to see yet another wound. Harry was fully aware that he should be furious with Draco right now. He had broken his promise AGAIN. But Harry just couldn't bring himself to be angry.

Instead he lifted Draco into his lap so Draco's head was resting on his chest. Harry stroked his smooth hair softly and just watched him as he slipped out of consciousness. After making sure that Draco was really passed out, Harry inspected the wound again. It wasn't deep, but Harry could tell Draco had been squeezing it to make it bleed more. He sighed at his foolishness, but then recalled his own bout with this sickness.

When Harry had cut, he hadn't been able to stop either. He kept telling himself, "this is the _last time_." But he kept doing it again. So in all fairness, he couldn't expect Draco to stop just because he had told him to. He needed something more. So Harry was going to talk to him when he woke up.

In the mean time, Harry grabbed his own wand and begun cleaning the wound and then healing it over. But then there was the question of where Draco was going to go and how he was going to get there. Harry wanted to be there when Draco woke up, but he was sure Draco wouldn't want Madam Pomfrey fussing over him. So there was only one thing to do. Harry scrawled a note to the Medi-witch and slowly picked Draco up from the floor, draping his invisibility cloak over the pair of them. He slowly walked all the way back up to their room, laying Draco on the bed softly.

He backed away slowly, marveling at how peaceful Draco looked when he was unconscious. But he knew it wouldn't last, so why drag it on? Harry retrieved his wand from his pocket and performed some quick spells to bring Draco back to consciousness.

As Draco's eyelids fluttered, Harry rushed over to the bed and stared at him. Draco slowly opened his eyes, and from the expression on his face, he did not remember what had just happened. Harry glared at him sternly and Draco watched, confused. Then, the dawn came, and Draco looked terrified but didn't say a word.

"You've done it again, Draco." Harry said stiffly, not sure how he should approach the predicament that faced him.

Draco nodded solemnly, but still refused to break down. He was going to face this and not let Harry get to him.

"Now listen, I've got some things to say that I think you should know," Harry said, his voice softening slightly.

"First of all, I'm very upset that you did this again. I love you, and it breaks my heart to see you do this to yourself. I'm afraid one day you'll take it too far and when you pass out you'll never wake up. I don't know what I would do if that happened," continued Harry, almost angrily. "And I don't think it would be wrong to just leave you at this point; you're causing me so much heartache that sometimes I feel you're just not worth it. But I would still love you, and that would really hurt. And plus, if I did leave you, you would probably be so upset you would slit your wrists." Finished Harry with a smirk.

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter," muttered Draco bitterly, still trying to preserve his dignity and failing miserably.

Harry shot Draco a look that basically said, "Shut the hell up," and Draco complied.

"_Furthermore,_" continued Harry with a dismissive tone, "I think there's something I should show you." Harry whispered. Slowly, Harry rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and revealed his forearm, which looked seemingly flawless. But Harry picked up his wand and lifted the concealment charm he religiously placed on it. The milky skin revealed color, and Draco gasped.

"Y-you…_ you_… you used to cut?" stammered Draco, feeling awfully confused and shocked.

"Yes, Draco, I did," answered Harry, almost defiantly, "and I stopped. But it took a lot of work and support. And I'm willing to give you that support as long as you _try_ to stop." Said Harry, now very serious.

Harry watched in amazement as Draco's eyes filled with tears. Harry had never really seen Draco cry before, so this was a very weird, new thing. Draco ran his fingers over Harry's arm, tracing the words and shapes. Tears started to run down his cheeks as his eyes traveled from Harry's arm, all the way up to his emerald eyes.

"I'm so sorry…" Draco whispered, tears streaming down his face, "I had no idea."

Harry quieted him by covering Draco's mouth with his own. "It's alright, don't be sorry." Harry said firmly when they broke apart, "but remember, you must really try to stop."

But at this point Draco was no longer paying attention. His eyes were fixated on Harry's arm again, this time looking at a particular cut. He was staring at the broken heart.

Slowly, Draco pulled up his own sleeve and looked at the broken heart on his own arm. He looked from Harry's to his own and back again. Harry was watching him intently.

"Yes, I know about that, strange, huh?" Harry offered, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Draco just nodded and continued to stare.

"Why?" Draco finally gasped.

"Er, why what?" Harry stammered nervously.

"Why did you do that one?" Draco whispered.

"Er… well uh, I had a broken heart?" Said Harry, hoping that Draco wouldn't question it further.

Draco nodded suspiciously, obviously very curious but didn't want to ask. "Well I did this one… because-uh. Because of… you." Said Draco, gesturing to the heart on his own arm; afraid of how Harry would react.

"Really?" Said Harry, grinning despite himself, "Aw, did I break your heart, Dray?"

"Shut up you git, and don't call me that," said Draco, responding negatively to Harry's comment. Harry opened his mouth to respond, but Draco would have none of that. "I said, _shut up._" And with that, Draco pounced on Harry, knocking him to the bed. Draco straddled him, kissing him forcefully, making sure he couldn't talk.

"We… should really… get back… to sleep," Said Harry in between kisses when he could. Draco was very obviously trying to prove his dominance and Harry could do nothing but be silently amused.

"Fine then, have it your way," said Draco, very disappointed. He was enjoying being in control for once. "But I'll make sure we pick up where we left off tomorrow."

Harry smirked and kissed Draco again. "Good night Draco," he whispered.

"Mm," responded Draco sleepily. Harry moved over to the other side of the bed, wrongly assuming that Draco wanted some space.

"Where do you think _you're _going?" muttered Draco, pulling Harry closer to him. "I couldn't sleep without you, you know," said Draco, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Harry laughed genuinely and then said, "You know what? Neither could I."

Draco smirked, his head inflating almost visibly, and then put his arms around Harry, whispering, "I love you" in his ear.

"Love you too," said Harry dejectedly; he had been hoping this time he, Harry, would say it first.

**

* * *

**

The next day was Saturday, much to the boys' relief. After their packed night, they needed a lot of extra sleep.

Harry was the first one to wake up. He cast a sleepy gaze over the room, and then glanced at Draco. Their arms were still around each other. Harry smiled as he realized what a precious moment this was. Harry held Draco closer and kissed him on the cheek before getting out of bed and showering. Draco was awake and staring at the ceiling when Harry came out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel around his waist.

Draco appeared to be very pensive; he didn't even look when Harry entered the room. Harry crossed the threshold and went to sit on the bed next to Draco. Draco only looked at him when he felt him sit on the bed, merely smirking at his vulnerability but then just returning to staring at the ceiling.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Harry asked curiously.

"Hm?" said Draco, very distracted still, "oh, um, nothing. What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"Well for starters, usually when I walk into our room just wearing a towel, you make a desperate attempt to wrestle it off of me." Said Harry with a smile, but still managed to sound concerned.

"I've just got other things on my mind is all," snapped Draco, oblivious to Harry's concern.

Harry just looked at him until he returned the gaze. "What 'other things'?"

Draco avoided Harry's eyes and muttered, "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Harry said eagerly, quite pleased he was getting somewhere.

"Stop." Said Draco softly.

Harry's smile faded, now even more concerned. He grabbed Draco's arm before answering, first making sure there were no new cuts. When he was satisfied that his suspicions were wrong, he turned to Draco.

"Well, that's a good question," Harry said thoughtfully. "Are you getting the urge to do it again?" he asked gently.

Draco nodded, looking ashamed. "Well that's to be expected. You are ready to commit yourself to stopping though, aren't you?" Harry said. Draco nodded again.

"Okay, good. Well, is there anything artistic that you enjoy doing?" questioned Harry.

"Yes… but I never really told anybody," said Draco reluctantly.

"You can tell me, can't you?" said Harry softly, "I promise I won't judge you."

Draco paused before answering. "Well alright. I like to paint."

Harry grinned broadly. "That's excellent! You see, I like to write poems. When I committed myself to quitting, Hermione told me I should channel my bad feelings into something productive. So instead of carving words into my arms, I wrote them down on paper and made poems. For you, every time you feel like cutting, well, turn it into inspiration and paint something."

Draco nodded. "Thank you, Harry," he said sincerely.

"Any time," started Harry, "but now that you are feeling better, aren't you going to attempt to wrestle my towel off?" He said coyly.

Draco gave him a sexy smirk but said nothing. Instead he pounced. Harry was thrown off balance by Draco's sudden aggressiveness and nearly fell over, but Draco stopped his fall by grabbing him by the shoulders. He pushed Harry, causing him to back up against the wall. And the snogging began.

Draco stopped kissing Harry's mouth and moved onto his neck, giving him a fresh love bite. He bit and sucked until it drew a few droplets of blood, and then he licked that away and moved on. Harry was untying the robe that Draco was still wearing, and fighting to get it off without breaking contact with the other boy.

When Harry successfully removed the robe, Draco pressed himself closer to Harry's body, still traveling down. When he reached the towel, he wasted no time in yanking it off…

**(Edit)**

Once the two of them caught their breath, they clung to one another and kissed. Once their lips separated, Draco kissed Harry's forehead and whispered, "There wasn't much point in that shower, was there, Potter?"

Harry shook his head weakly, still fazed from their activities. "Hmm, it's not over yet, _Malfoy,_" he said, overemphasizing Draco's last name. He pressed his hips into Draco's, letting him know that he was ready for another go. Evidently, Draco was too, for he was just as hard as Harry was.

Draco leaned on Harry's shoulder and whispered, "I want you in me, Potter."

Harry backed away a bit, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. This came as quite a shock. "N-no, I don't think so." Stammered Harry nervously, "I'm not really ready for that. Sorry?"

Draco looked severely disappointed, but nodded nonetheless. "Okay, but I want to know when you're ready." Harry nodded. "Prude," Harry heard Draco mutter under his breath as he dragged Harry into the bathroom for another shower.

**

* * *

**

Later that day at lunch, Draco had gone up to the room early to study for an upcoming Transfiguration test, so Harry told Hermione what had happened.

She giggled the whole time, which Harry thought was extremely irritating, so he asked why. "Well Harry, girls just think it's so hot when two guys snog." She said logically, as if he should know that already. Harry just rolled his eyes and continued.

"…And then he said… 'IwantyouinmePotter,'" Harry said very quickly, sort of embarrassed.

"He said WHAT!" Hermione gasped, amazed.

"You heard me…" muttered Harry resentfully.

"Ohmygosh. What did you _say_? You didn't do it did you?" Hermione asked eagerly, fascinated by her best friend's sex life.

"NO, of course we didn't do it!" screeched Harry; surprised that Hermione was even _asking _him that.

"Oh…" said Hermione, unable to hide her disappointment, which resulted in Harry raising his eyebrows at her. "Uh, well why did you say no? Is he mad?"

"Well, I told him the truth! I'm not ready for that yet! And no, of course he's not mad. Disappointed, but not mad," said Harry with a smirk.

"But why did you say no? It's not like you haven't…" started Hermione, but Harry silenced her with a glare. "Okay then, you don't want me to talk about it! But still! What does he have to do to make you deem him worthy?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Well I've got to be certain that he isn't just going to leave me when he's through," Harry began quietly, "like… last time."

Hermione nodded, showing she understood. "But how will you know?" she questioned.

"Well we have to get into a fight and survive it. And he's got to stop cutting." Harry whispered that last part, making absolute certain nobody could hear.

"Oh, and I suppose that's not it. He's got to do something really sweet. Draco's got to be able to shelve his pride and make me feel generally _good._" Harry finished with a smirk. Hermione looked thoughtful and slowly nodded.

"I see," she said. Hermione was not going to let Harry turn Draco down again. She knew Harry wanted it, he was just too afraid. And she also knew Draco wasn't going to leave Harry. She just had to help him prove it.

**

* * *

**

Draco was very confused. He had no idea why Hermione wanted to talk to him. He was kind of scared, to tell you the truth. He knew Hermione was very skilled with a wand; he just hoped that she wasn't under the impression he was making Harry unhappy.

When Draco reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Hermione was standing there as she had promised she would be.

"Er, hullo Granger," Draco said nervously.

"Hey Draco. And I think we should be on first name basis by now. After all, you're dating my best friend," said Hermione. She didn't sound angry; this relieved Draco quite a bit.

"Alright then, _Hermione_," said Draco, "Now what is this all about anyway? You said you needed to talk to me about something?"

"Er, yes, I suppose I should get to the point. Well this isn't easy to discuss, and I daresay you'll probably feel a bit uncomfortable," started Hermione, "but I understand Harry didn't want to get too… er, _intimate _with you yet?" she asked tentatively.

"Blimey, does he tell you _everything?_" Draco said, looking slightly disturbed.

"He sure does," Hermione answered, looking smug. "Just answer the question Draco, I want to help you get some." She said quite bluntly.

Draco flushed red. "Erm, you were right. He freaked out when I asked him to go all the way."

Hermione nodded in acknowledgement of his answer. "Well, I personally think he's being foolish holding back like that—he's afraid to tell you the truth. I don't think I'm the right person to tell you why, but he's afraid that you're going to shag him then dump him." Said Hermione.

"WHAT?" gasped Draco, "Is _that_ why he's afraid? I told him I would never leave him!" he fumed.

"I know, I know! Calm down," whispered Hermione, shooting nervous glances about the hallway, making sure nobody was listening.

"You've got to get him to trust you, and I can help you out. I'll do anything to assist; once Harry gets past this he'll feel a lot better about a lot of different things."

Draco opened his mouth and was clearly about to ask what it was Harry was uneasy about, but Hermione quieted him. "Ssh, I'm sorry Draco but I think Harry should be the one to tell you that. He won't even talk about it with me and I know what happened already." Said Hermione.

Draco nodded in understanding. "Okay, but what specifically do I do?" He questioned.

"Do something very romantic. Harry totally goes for that stuff. Believe me." Hermione said enthusiastically.

"Okay… wait—how do _you_ know?" Draco asked in a threatening voice, glaring at Hermione.

Right then she started laughing madly, which just made Draco glare harder. "Draco I haven't… Oh my, you're possessive aren't you?" Said Hermione between giggles, wiping tears from her eyes. "That's so hot."

Draco started laughing despite himself. "Well actually," she continued, "Harry hasn't always known he was gay, but never… with _me_? That's classic!" Hermione said, still very amused.

"Okay, this is losing its humor now." Said Draco bitterly, "anyway, anything else I should know?"

"Er, well yes. He thinks you should get into a fight and make it through. But you can't make that happen, it must happen by itself." Said Hermione.

Draco nodded, "That all?"

"Er, no. He also said… you er, have to stop cutting." Hermione whispered.

Draco was shocked. He had no idea it meant that much to Harry. All he could do is nod. "I'll see you later then?" He whispered.

"Er, yes, see you Draco." Hermione said with a wave as she walked off.

**

* * *

**

As Draco walked down the stairs back to the third floor, he felt very shaken up. How many people had Harry told about his problem? He really hoped it was only Hermione; he could live with that. In fact, he had already known that she knew—she was the one who saved him that first time. Draco dismissed the thought as he reached the landing of the third floor.

But then another thought crossed his mind. He was supposed to be romantic. He needed serious help in that area. Sure, he might be one of the sexiest wizards alive, but he was really bad with the lovey-dovey stuff. '_Who can I get to help me?'_ he thought nervously. Almost nobody remained friends with him after he had come out about his relationship with Harry. In fact, only one person did.

Blaise!

He had always been Draco's best friend. His only real friend, actually. While Crabbe and Goyle were merely Draco's bodyguards, Blaise was always there for him emotionally. He had been the first person Draco told that he was gay. But that was only because he had said he was as well.

They had never had a real relationship. They may have snogged once or twice when nobody was watching, but that was about it. It was because they realized soon after that we were just friends, and that's all we could ever be. But Draco knew that Blaise was a true romantic, so he passed the third floor and made his way down to the dungeons to find him.

Draco slowly descended the dungeon stairs; afraid of whom he could bump into that might give him hell. Thankfully, it was completely deserted. And much to his luck, when he _did_ bump into someone, it was the person he had been looking for.

"Hey, Malfoy!" Blaise shouted good-naturedly.

Draco smiled and said, "Hello Zabini. Just the man I was looking for."

"It's been a while Draco, what's up? I hear you've been with Potter lately." Said Blaise, obviously hinting at something.

Draco smirked. "Actually, that's what I needed to see you about. Why don't we go up to my room so we can talk?" suggested Draco.

"Sure thing; lets go. I'm eager to hear how he is…" commented Blaise with a distinct wink.

Draco shuddered involuntarily and said jokingly, "Hands off Zabini, he's mine. And besides, I wouldn't know how he is. That's more specifically what I needed to see you about."

"Do continue," Blaise said, his interest obviously piqued.

"Well Harry isn't ready to do anything too, er, _serious_ yet." Draco explained.

"You mean you haven't gotten any action!" Blaise exclaimed, obviously shocked.

"Er, I wouldn't say that." Muttered Draco.

Blaise smirked and bid him to continue.

"Well I spoke to his friend. You know, Granger?" Blaise nodded vigorously. "Well she told me that he might give in if I do something romantic for him. But, as you well know, I'm _very_ bad with that sort of thing. So I need your help, you know, creating the atmosphere."

At this point they had reached Draco and Harry's room. Draco muttered the password and motioned for Blaise to stay out of sight while he made sure that Harry was not inside. He motioned for Blaise to follow and they went in.

Draco sat on the bed and Blaise sat next to him while they continued their conversation.

"Well that's an easy one Draco. You've come to the right guy," Blaise said with a grin. They began discussing plans to make the atmosphere romantic. Zabini suggested scented candles and dim lighting. He said he thought Harry would really go for that.

"And then he'll shag you!" Blaise said emphatically.

"What makes you think _he'l_ be shagging _me_?" Draco said, feigning surprise. He shoved Blaise a bit to hard, resulting in him toppling off the bed.

Both boys started laughing so hard that they couldn't move, Blaise still on the floor and Draco watching him from the bed. "Here…" Draco was saying in-between bursts of laughter, "I'm sorry, let me help you up." Draco leaned forward in order to help Blaise off the floor, but quickly lost his balance and toppled off the bed. Another bout of laughter ensued, Draco still leaning on Blaise's chest. When Draco regained his composure, he propped himself up so that one arm was on either side of Blaise, and he was facing away from the door. Their faces were inches apart, and if you were to walk in at that time, you would most likely get the wrong idea about what was going on.

So, of course, that was the moment Harry chose to walk in. "_Draco_?" Harry said, shock apparent in his voice, "_Blaise Zabini_?" Harry's eyes widened at the sight before him.

Draco turned around just in time to see Harry's eyes well up with tears. "Harry! Wait! You've got it all wrong!" yelled Draco. But it was too late.

Harry was already out the door, running as fast as he possibly could, his legs carrying him in no particular direction.

'_Well,'_ Draco thought, '_this takes care of the fight. Now we've just got to survive it, which is a different thing entirely…'_

_

* * *

_  
**(End Of Chapter Ten)**

(A/N) Yay! I dunno why, but I'm in a good mood! So make me happier still and review!

**XOXO Princesspeppper OXOX**


	11. Giving In

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content, adult language, self-harm, kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing.

(A/N): THIS HAS BEEN EDITED! BWAHAHAHA:cough: dreadfully sorry about that. Contact me if you want to read the lemon, and I'll email you a link. Okay, on with the chapter!

Thanks to: **ozumas girl, Pure Black, twodollartrick,x-stay18forever-x, personz-of-da-dungoen, darkanime14,adina, clear venom, Beloved, Confused-Gal,**and **Justajester**!

* * *

**(Chapter Eleven: Giving In)**

Draco watched Harry run away with tears in his eyes. He was afraid he had lost him forever. But he wouldn't let that happen. And Blaise wouldn't let it happen either.

"Draco, what are you just sitting there for! Go run after your man!" shouted Blaise emphatically.

"Right…" said Draco, springing to his feet. "And I want you gone by the time I get back, by the way." He added on his way out.

Once Draco had cleared the doorway, he started running at full speed in Harry's direction. He was afraid Harry had threw him off, but then he saw a flash of black hair whipping around a corner so he knew he was on the right track.

"Harry! HARRY! You've got it _all wrong_!" he shouted after his disgruntled lover, dashing through the corridors.

Finally Harry was trapped between Draco and a wall with nowhere else to go. So he just had to watch as Draco closed in on him, panting and dragging his feet.

"Harry… let… me explain…" breathed Draco in-between gasps for air.

Harry merely glared at him noiselessly. _Ack, if looks could kill…_ Draco thought miserably.

Draco opened his mouth to say something else, but that was when Harry snapped. He lashed out at Draco, smacking him across the cheek leaving a large red handprint. Draco staggered away, a look of pure shock on his face. Harry moved out of the corner he was trapped in and bumped into Draco threateningly as he passed by.

"Bitch…" he whispered in Draco's ear as he slowly walked away.

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.Draco's POV.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

I just stood there. I stood there, looking like a complete idiot. With a red handprint on my face. I backed into the wall Harry had been up against and slid down to the floor, clutching my face where he had hit me. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Harry had _slapped_ me.

I cried. I couldn't remember the last time I had cried that hard. The misery just boiled up in my stomach until it overflowed into my throat, pushing out a wail. I kept telling myself to shut up; somebody would hear me, and _Malfoys don't cry_. My father's words echoed in my head as sobs racked my body.

I couldn't just sit there and cry while Harry continued to be furious with me. He had called me a _bitch_. I had to rectify that. Slowly, I dried my eyes on the sleeve of my robes and eased to my feet. I figured he would either be up in Gryffindor Tower, or in our room. I prayed for the latter, so I headed in that direction first. It was exactly how I had left it, save for the fact that Blaise was gone. So I left and moved on to Gryffindor Tower.

I had no idea how I was going to get in; I didn't know the password. I would find him though, even if I had to wait out all night.

As I was running down the corridor towards the portrait of the Fat Lady, luckily for me, Hermione was exiting the Tower. I nearly crashed into her because of how fast I was running. She was quite startled at first, but then realized whom it was she had almost collided with and realization dawned on her features.

"Draco, this has something to do with Harry running into the common room looking furious, doesn't it?" she inquired.

I nodded and looked up at her. She looked at me carefully and saw the red handprint on my face.

"Oh God, what did you do?" she said, not sounding the least bit angry.

"Uh, er, nothing really, but Harry thinks I did," I mumbled, the cheek that hadn't been slapped turning red as well.

"Oh dear, has Harry jumped to conclusions again?" she said sympathetically.

"Yes…" I said, still embarrassed, "you've got to help me talk some sense to him!" I added.

Hermione gave me a quick nod and took my hand to lead me up Gryffindor Tower. As soon as we entered the common room, everyone seemed to look up from what they were doing and stare. It was so obvious that I didn't belong in there, what with me wearing very obviously Slytherin robes and Harry being angry with me.

I did my best to ignore them and followed Hermione up the staircase that lead to the boy's dorms. Hermione knocked on the door expertly, obviously having done so many times before.

I heard a great sigh coming from the other side of the door. It was Harry. "What is it Hermione?" he whined. Apparently she had a knock specific to her.

"Harry, there's someone here that needs to see you." She said. I elbowed her in the side, mouthing '_now he'll never open the door!'_

She laughed, which ticked me off and mouthed back, '_don't worry, I know what to do.'_ I wasn't sure if I trusted her, but I supposed I had to.

When Harry didn't answer, Hermione sighed impatiently and knocked again. "Harry," she started, sounding quite exasperated, "just open the door. I'm not going to leave you alone until you _open this door_." She said firmly.

I heard footsteps. I began to get really nervous. What was I going to say? Would he believe me? I didn't know, but I knew I would have to find out.

Harry slowly opened the door, a glare apparent on his face. He stared right into my eyes and said coldly, "What do _you_ want?"

I was utterly gobsmacked. I didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Hermione realized this and cut in.

"Harry, I don't know what happened between you two; it's none of my business. But I believe Draco when he says it was a misunderstanding."

But Harry cut her off as she was opening her mouth to say something else. "You didn't see him! He was _rolling around on the floor_ with his 'friend' Blaise! Probably snogging each other's brains out!" Yelled Harry.

My jaw dropped, probably quite unattractively. All I could do was stare at Harry and think about the ludicrousness of the situation. He thought I had been _kissing_ my best friend! Well I suppose I knew that all along, but it sounded even dumber actually hearing him say it.

I smirked in my sexy way, knowing that always got to Harry. Sure enough, I saw his expression soften a bit. But that didn't keep him from being angry.

"Sure Malfoy, laugh at me! I saw it happen, what the hell is so bloody funny?" he screeched.

"Harry… HARRY CALM DOWN!" screamed Hermione. "I'm sure you just walked in at the wrong time!"

"Oh sure, I'm positive that Malfoy was hoping that I wouldn't be in for another hour or so, so he could _shag_ Zabini as well!" Harry retorted.

"Harry! Stop being a bloody git for a second and _listen to me!_" I yelled above Harry's noises of protest.

"I always knew you couldn't see what was in front of your nose, Potter!" I continued, now infuriated, "you read too much into everything! I can't even _laugh_ and you think I'm cheating on you!"

Harry looked very hurt at this point. I suppose it was the combination of me yelling at him and him still thinking I had been snogging someone else.

"Draco," He said tensely, "it didn't look like you were _laughing_ to me. You were leaning over him! Like you had just kissed him!"

I took a deep breath so I wouldn't explode and never get him back. Patience was a virtue; that was for sure. "Harry. Listen to me. I was _helping him up._ I had accidentally _knocked him off the bed_. I'm telling you, I—" But Harry cut me off in the middle of my explanation.

"Oh, I see, Malfoy," said Harry in a false understanding voice, "and what exactly were you doing that knocked him off the _bed_ in the first place!" he roared.

"I PUSHED HIM BECAUSE HE SAID SOMETHING RUDE!" I yelled, making Harry's eyes widen. I could tell that now he was a little shell-shocked and he was beginning to see my side of the story.

"Look, Harry," I said gently, "I understand why you thought we were doing something… I probably would have thought the same if I were you! But listen, I wouldn't do that. It's a horrible thing to do, snogging someone else when you're in love with the person you're with. Well even if you _aren't_ in love, it's a horrible thing to do. But you've got to believe me when I tell you that _nothing happened_. We're friends. That's all. We tried dating in fourth year and it just didn't work out. Believe me, I would _never _snog him again." (Authoress: whistle…)

As I made my little speech, I saw Harry start to come to his senses. His features relaxed and he met my gaze, guilt apparent in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" he said softly. Then, wordlessly, he walked up to me and planted a kiss on my cheek delicately. He looked towards the ground and ran off, obviously going back to our room.

"Thanks Hermione," I whispered, then I took off after him.

"You did it yourself Draco!" she yelled after me. I smiled, happy that I had a new ally.

**.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.Normal POV.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.**

Harry didn't know why he ran away. He figured it was just because he was so embarrassed having jumped to conclusions like that, he couldn't face Draco. But he knew he couldn't avoid him, so there was really no point. Besides, he didn't _want_ to avoid him.

So when Harry reached their shared room, he ran inside and fell onto the bed, burying his face in the pillows. He lay still, waiting for Draco to return. He knew that Draco knew where he went; it was obvious. So all he had to do was wait for Draco to catch up.

Sure enough, he heard footsteps approaching a few moments later, and the door to the room creaked open. Harry sat up straight and looked Draco right in the eye.

"You were telling the truth, right?" he said seriously, expecting an honest answer

"Yes." Said Draco firmly. At this point, Harry was positive he wasn't lying.

* * *

"Psst… psst, Hermione!" Draco hissed. It was the next day and he was hiding behind a statue by the entrance of Gryffindor Tower, waiting for Hermione to appear. When she heard him, she looked slightly confused. She shot quick paranoid glances around the corridor, not sure of whom was calling her.

But then she spotted a glint of blonde hair behind a statue and grinned, walking towards the area.

"What is it now, Draco? Did Harry slap you again?" she said jokingly.

Draco glared at her. "Don't push your luck Granger! I'm only friends with you because of Harry!" he snapped.

Hermione looked very taken aback and bemused, with just a hint of shock. Then Draco started laughing.

"Haha… I'm just kidding… should've seen the look on your face!" he said amid animated chortling.

"Haha, very funny," Hermione grumbled, "now do you want my help or not?"

Draco stopped laughing just in time to take her query seriously. "Er, yes actually," he said with a dab of embarrassment in his voice. Hermione gave him a questioning look so he continued, "well, er, I need Harry out of our room for an hour or so later on. Could you, erm, distract him somehow?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Why would that be?"

"It's none of your business! Er, but I suppose I can tell you," Hermione chuckled at that. "Well you see, I need to work on the, uh, atmosphere of our room. And it's to be a surprise. So he can't be there while I do it."

Hermione giggled when she thought of why it was that Draco would want to create a different atmosphere. "Planning your seduction, Draco?"

Draco blushed fiercely, but nodded once in admission.

Hermione grinned again, her sick girl mind thinking of… things. "Alright Draco, I'll help you out. What did you have in mind? I don't know how to distract him! Nothing will distract him from _you._" Said Hermione, batting her eyelashes in an attempt to infuriate Draco. It was just so much fun.

"Er," started Draco uncertainly, quite inattentive from her last comment. He was flattered although he knew she was just brownnosing him. "Well you could just say you'd like to spend some time with him. Say that you haven't seen him too much lately because he's been to engrossed in his _sexy boyfriend_ to hang around with you." Said Draco with a smirk.

Hermione glowered. "So that's how you want to play huh? Well maybe it was just because I'm too _smart _to hang around. I mean he's used to being around you…"

The two of them just weren't used to being nice to each other, they had to throw in some insults here and there.

Draco got sick of the game at that point and just let it slide off. "Whatever. Just tell him that you miss him, blah blah blah. Thanks a lot, you've really helped me a great deal." Said Draco genuinely. And then he did something very strange; he kissed her on the cheek. Then he just walked away like he did that every time he saw her.

Hermione stood there with her eyebrows raised, watching him depart. Her former worst enemy had just asked her for assistance with his love life and then she had actually agreed to help him. Then he _kissed her on the cheek_. Now she had seen everything.

* * *

An hour later, Hermione knocked on the door to Harry and Draco's room.

"Who's there?" called Harry absent mindedly; he was doing his homework for once, and was concentrating hard.

"Harry? Open up, its Hermione!" she shouted through the portrait, causing the painting of Salazar Slytherin to cringe and cover his ears.

Harry rushed to the door and opened it up, to see Hermione standing there, grinning broadly. "Hello Harry! Are you busy?" she inquired, peering inside.

"No, I was just doing some homework is all. What's up?" Said Harry.

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to spend some of the evening with me," replied Hermione eagerly.

Harry suspected something, but hurriedly agreed, happy to spend some time with his best friend.

He quickly scrawled a note to Draco and left it on the bed, just letting him know he was with Hermione and would be back in a few hours.

"So… where are we going?" asked Harry warily, as they walked through the deserted hallway

"Hm, well I was thinking that we could go to the Gryffindor common room and play chess or something? Or maybe just talk?"

"Uh, sounds good," said Harry. He thought it was strange that Hermione would ask him to spend time with her if she didn't have a plan in mind, but he waved it off and followed her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Draco was hiding behind a nearby statue, waiting for Harry to leave the room. When Hermione passed by with Harry, she turned her head and gave him a wink. '_Good luck_,' she mouthed.

This was it. It was time to go in. He picked up the bag of things he had next to him and walked inside the room, ready to prepare for tonight. He was extremely nervous. He NEEDED this to be perfect. Harry wouldn't refuse him this time.

But that wasn't the only reason Draco was nervous. Contrary to common belief, Draco was a virgin. Harry didn't know that. He was saving that bit of information for _just _before it happened… It just seemed so perfect to Draco. He had been saving himself for somebody he really loved, and he knew that Harry was the right one. And him and Harry would lose their virginity together… or so he thought.

* * *

Hermione wouldn't walk with Harry back to his room. He could tell that she really wanted to, but there was something holding her back. It looked like it _hurt_ to say no. Hermione was very torn. She wanted to see Harry's face when he walked into his room and it was all…_ transformed_, but at the same time she knew that this was _Draco's_ thing; he had set it up and she shouldn't intrude on the moment. She'd just have to _imagine_ the look on Harry's face and then grill him later.

"Bye Hermione! See you soon." Harry said on his way out the door.

Hermione was on her way upstairs to her room, but called over her shoulder, "Goodbye Harry." Then she paused, "Good luck!" and with that, she ran upstairs, not leaving Harry time to ask her what she was wishing him luck about.

When Harry opened the door to his and Draco's room, his breath was taken away. He looked around and took in the sight before him, utterly amazed at what his lover had gone through. The dressers and tables were adorned with white, lit candles, emitting a fuzzy glow all around the room. It cast shadows upon the wall that moved in slow swaying motions, painting pictures with light.

Harry inhaled and smelt incense. He looked and found that indeed, one of the dressers had incense atop it and it was lit, lightly smoking and letting off a calming cinnamon scent. And the candles smelled like vanilla… it was wondrous.

But that by far was not the most astounding aspect. Harry looked over to the bed to find it draped in satin sheets. And reclining atop it was Draco, smiling at Harry and wearing only a pair of silk boxers.

"Hello, Harry," Draco said alluringly.

Harry couldn't say anything. His vocal cords seemed to have frozen up. He slowly and enticingly walked over to the bed and sat down next to Draco.

"You look a little uncomfortable," said Draco suggestively, "let me help you with that…"

Draco swooped down on Harry and begun kissing him desirously and hard, using teeth and tongue and all. Harry was quite taken aback by his forwardness, but readily gave in, caressing his head as they moved about.

Draco ran his fingers up and down Harry's sides, causing him to shiver involuntarily with yearning. He moaned, pressing his body closer to Draco's.

"That got a reaction," Draco murmured. He pushed his hands up higher into Harry's shirt, making Harry beg him to take it off. He complied eagerly, lifting it off in one fluid motion. Their lips crashed together again, causing Harry to moan with desire again.

Draco held him closer and lightly applied pressure to his shoulders, signaling for him to lie down. Harry adhered to him obediently, allowing Draco to lie on top of him, straddling Harry's hips in a very seductive position.

Draco went through his routine of kissing down Harry's body, leaving Harry to rest his hands on Draco's hips. Draco made it into a game, _how many times can I make Harry moan?_ He thought. He was up to the challenge. He moved down Harry's chiseled stomach, lightly brushing his lips to the skin, causing Harry's hairs to stand on end. Which inevitably brought a moan. Draco smirked and moved on.

When Harry had been licked or kissed pretty much everywhere and had several love bites on his neck, Draco decided it was time to move on. He slid down so he could reach Harry's pants and looked up into his eyes.

"Harry, are you ready for this? I mean, you _appear _to be ready…" said Draco, looking at the uncomfortable bulge in Harry's pants.

"Yes… yes!" Harry gasped, quite impatient, "you look pretty ready yourself…" he added as an afterthought, causing Draco to blush slightly.

Once Harry's pants were off and they were both only in their boxers, Draco leaned over Harry and said, "Now, Potter, are you prepared to take me up on my earlier offer?"

Harry closed his eyes and nodded, and then leaned upwards to kiss Draco. Draco received the kiss without hesitation.

When they broke apart, Draco just stared into Harry's beautiful green eyes. "You know Harry," began Draco, "there is nobody I'd rather be doing this with. I'm glad I saved myself for _you_."

Harry nodded silently; at first he hadn't processed what Draco had said because of how filled with lust he was at the moment. But then the words started to replay themselves in his head, making his eyes bug out.

"Draco… you are a VIRGIN?" Harry said incredulously.

Draco feigned shock, "Yes, of course I am, what did _you_ think?"

Harry just stared at him. "Well, erm, I'm flattered! And now I feel REALLY stupid…"

"Why?" inquired Draco suspiciously.

"Uh… forget it…" Harry grumbled.

"No, I want to know!" exclaimed Draco

"Well… I just feel dumb. Because you're a virgin."

"But so are you… aren't you?" said Draco, slightly fearful.

"Uh… don't be mad. No, I'm not." Harry said shakily, unable to meet Draco's gaze.

Draco's jaw dropped in shock. "Harry… wow. I'm not mad but… well as long as it was, you know, before we started going out… but…" Draco was babbling, obviously at a loss for words at this shocking news.

"I mean, I thought it would be all over the school if you had been dating someone! Who was he?" stammered Draco; slightly disturbed that this wasn't Harry's first time.

"Er, it wasn't a he," said Harry uncomfortably, which caused Draco's eyes to widen further.

"Really?" gasped Draco, "But… this is such a dumb question but aren't you gay?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "No, of course I'm not gay," said Harry sarcastically, "I'm about to shag a man, but I'm not gay."

"I didn't know, you could be bi…" Draco muttered, laughing anxiously. "But you still haven't told me who _she _was then!"

Harry sighed. "Are you sure this is the right time to talk about this? If I wait much longer before we do this it's going to _hurt_. Actually it already hurts a little…"

Draco gave him a stern look and said, "No, Harry, I want to know. This is not going _any_ further until you tell me."

"Okay fine! But I won't like it!" said Harry stubbornly. "Well it was approximately two summers ago. I was staying at the Leaky Cauldron to escape my relatives. There was this girl staying there… her name was Samantha and she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. At this point I had no idea that I was gay, so naturally I was very much inclined when she asked me out."

Draco was listening attentively, nodding his head here and there to show he understood. Harry continued. "So it started out really slow, she was very nice to me, she seemed like a great person. We were together for the entirety of the summer, and I found out that she goes to Hogwarts with us. I was shocked; I had never noticed her before. But she's a year ahead of us, so I didn't really pay much attention to her earlier. She was very eager to take our relationship to the next level, where I was more tentative. She was always trying to persuade me to do things I wasn't really ready for. I thought she just really wanted it. I was wrong.

"When we were in fifth year, she finally talked me into having sex with her. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I was convinced that I was in love. But then, soon after, I found out that she had been using me. Not a week after we made love, she dumped me for no apparent reason. Well, to tell you the truth, there was a reason, I just don't like to think about it…" Harry's voice trailed off and Draco looked down at him in concern.

"Come on Harry, tell me why!" he pleaded.

Harry sighed and said, "Well alright. It turned out that all she had wanted the whole time was for me to shag her so she could say that she bedded Harry Potter." He said bitterly. "And there I was, thinking that we were in love. She was just using me." A tear streamed down Harry's face as he recalled this incident.

Draco kissed the tear away and looked into Harry's eyes, concern written all over his face. "Harry, is that why you didn't want to have sex with me earlier?" Draco said quietly, "were you afraid I was going to be like that bitch?"

Harry nodded slightly and avoided Draco's eyes. "Harry, I don't blame you for that. To tell you the truth, I would probably have done the same thing you did." He said sympathetically. "But don't you think it's time to move on? I mean, we know she's a bitch. I can help you…" and with that, Draco begun kissing Harry again. Harry gave in gratefully, relieved that Draco understood and felt a lot better from the comfort.

"Now are we going to do this or what?" Harry growled, softly biting Draco's bottom lip.

"Are you sure you feel better about this? You're all resolved? You know I'm not going to dump you after tonight?"

Harry nodded in resignation. "Then hell yes, we are going to do this." Said Draco.

**(Edit)**

Draco lay on top of Harry, looking into his emerald eyes. They kissed again, but not as passionately as before, as they were both drained from what they had just done.

When they broke apart, Draco kissed Harry's sweat-coated forehead and said, "Did you enjoy that as much as I did?"

Harry could only nod and look at him. "Much better than Samantha." He finally said, smiling at his lover.

Draco smiled back, very flattered. "And just for the record, that was a good first time." Said Draco lovingly, stroking Harry's hair.

Harry grinned broadly, kissing him again. "I love you." Whispered Harry.

"I love you too." Replied Draco. Just then, Draco heard a rapping coming from the window. He looked panic-stricken and went after his discarded boxers and put them on before opening the window.

Sitting on the ledge was a brown eagle owl that Draco recognized as his father's. He slowly, and in motions filled with dread, untied the letter that was attached to its foot. The owl took off immediately, obviously not expecting a response. But Lucius never expected Draco to respond to his letters.

Harry watched curiously as Draco shakily opened the envelope. His eyes widened in sheer horror as he read over the text printed there.

"Draco, what is it?" asked Harry nervously. Draco shook his head making it seem unimportant, but Harry knew better. He also knew Draco wasn't going to tell him. Draco shook his head in disbelief and fear as he read the letter over again.

_Draco,_

_It's gotten around to me that you have become involved with Harry Potter, the target of your master's plan. I congratulate you son, even I would not have thought of something so clever as to get close to the enemy and then lure him to his fate._

_I will be expecting you to bring him to the Dark Lord quite soon; I wouldn't want you to have to pretend you actually liked him for too long. It must be painful._

_Needless to say, failure to comply will result in punishment. And you know what that means in this case. For your sake I hope this is just a ploy to lure The Boy Who Lived into our clutches. If not, I suggest you enjoy free will while you still have it._

_Your Father,_

_Lucius_

**(End Of Chapter Eleven)**

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(A/N) Ooer, evil cliffie! o.0 Sorry, must keep things interesting, donchaknow. I'm sorry, I think I'm quite bad at writing lemon, so I apologize if the horrendousness of that part made you cringe. Please review! Until next time, 

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	12. 12 Majestic Lies

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N) I have nothing to say this time. Weird, huh?

Thanks to: **adina,Justajester, Elizabeth Turner, in aCRIMSON love,twodollartrick, Legolas, Confused-Gal,SquishSquish, no Siriusly, Pure Black, ozumas girl, Daniels Dark Angel, Prongs1, **and **personz-of-da-dungoen**!

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**  
(Chapter Twelve: 12 Majestic Lies)** Time seemed to freeze as Draco read over the letter again and again. Harry just stared at him and waited for _some_ sort of an explanation. Finally, he got fed up. 

"Draco, _what is it?_" he said loudly, now pulling on his own boxers.

Draco snapped out of the trance he had been in and looked up at Harry, seemingly surprised that he was there. Quickly, he tried to think of something.

"Uh, well I'm really nervous now because my father is trying to get me to come to the manor. And, erm, he wants me to get the Dark Mark." Draco cringed. He didn't like lying to Harry, but he couldn't know the truth. It would be the end of both of them.

Harry's eyes filled with sympathy and compassion as Draco spoke. "Draco… wow. How are you going to get out of this?"

"I don't know." Draco said truthfully. He didn't know what to do about the real situation either. God did he wish that that was the true story; it would be so much easier to get out of.

"Listen Harry, I think we should go to bed now. I need to sleep on this." Said Draco shakily.

Harry nodded and went around the room blowing out the candles. When they went to sleep, Draco held Harry all night, but that didn't stop the nightmares from coming.

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The next morning, Draco woke first. Sleep didn't do anything for him but make him realize that it was not a dream. It was really happening. Lucius was expecting Draco to kill Harry.

He sat up in bed and looked around. He spotted the piece of parchment that his father's letter was written on and read it over again, and again.

_Enjoy your free will while you still have it…_ Draco shuddered. He wasn't about to sell out Harry. He decided that he would write back to his father. He knew this would probably accomplish nothing, but at least he could say he tried.

_Lucius,_

_I don't know what gave you the ridiculous idea that I would hand Harry over to you and The Dark Lord. I didn't engage him in a relationship to kill him—I really do love him. Please, I'm begging you, don't bring me into this. It hurts me more than you'll know. _

_Draco_

Draco's hands shook as he rolled up the parchment and tied it closed. He quickly went to the owlry and sent it off. He knew that this letter was just sealing his fate; Lucius had as much pity as The Dark Lord himself. He would feel no remorse in killing Draco, most likely.

All through the day, Draco was shaking. Nobody seemed to notice; he was acting just as stuck up as usual. The only person who seemed to pick something up was Hermione. She approached him before lunch in the Charms Corridor.

"Draco!" she called down the hallway, causing him to stop.

"What is it?"

"Well… okay, I'll get right to the point. You seem a bit off today. Did something happen? Was it last night?" she said, concern in her eyes.

"No, nothing's wrong." Draco stated nervously, "and just to let you know, last night was great."

He knew that would throw Hermione off, he had seen her trying to corner Harry all day and ask how it had went. He inwardly smiled at his own brilliance.

"That's great! I'm glad to hear that," she said with a wicked smile, badly disguised thoughts shining through. Thoughts she knew she shouldn't have been thinking.

"Heh, yeah," stammered Draco uncomfortably. "Well, see you around Hermione."

"B'bye Draco."

**

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**

Throughout the entire day, all Draco could think about was his father's letter. He knew that Lucius was very prompt with his replies, and an answer would most likely be waiting for him when he got back to his and Harry's room. It was probable that the letter would contain dreadful news…

Draco knew that if that were the case (which he would be VERY surprised if it weren't) that he only had one choice. But he didn't want to think about it, it just made him awfully sick. And sad.

Sure enough, when Draco reached his room, there was a neat envelope lying on his pillow. With unsteady hands, he shakily opened the letter, almost giving himself a paper cut. His eyes blurred as he realized he didn't want to know what was written. But he had to know. He had to be warned.

_Draco,_

_I must say I am severely disappointed in you. I promise you that you will regret this decision for years. You have made yourself my enemy, Draco, and nobody wants to be my enemy. That is, unless they have a death wish._

_I strongly suggest you change your mind about this whole thing. It was that easy for you to like Potter, why don't you just stop? It would save you a lot of pain. Both physical and emotional. _

_Draco, if you yourself do not bring Potter to me, I will find a way to make you. I hold strong to my threat in my last letter. If I do not receive an answer from you within the next three hours, I will be forced to take action._

_Lucius_

Draco sunk half-heartedly onto the bed. He should have known it would end like this. There was no way that Lucius would let up at this point. Draco knew that in time, he himself would be suffering, but at this point all he could think about was Harry. Would Harry believe him if he told him what was going on? Would he believe him if it just _happened_ all of a sudden? Or would he think that Draco had been planning it all along and was taking advantage of him? The one thing he could not stand was to see Harry hurt.

Suddenly, Draco remembered that Harry would be back any minute from dinner. He had to hide the letter. He quickly stuffed it into the top drawer of the dresser in the corner of the room, making sure that nothing was showing as he closed it. He sank down on the bed and closed his eyes in a futile attempt to ward away his growing stress. He felt himself start to drift off into an uneasy slumber, plagued with nightmares.

**

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**

When Harry returned to his and Draco's room, he found Draco fitfully asleep on the bed, thrashing about clearly in the middle of a bad dream. He hurried over to the bed and tried waking him by grasping his shoulders and shaking him vigorously.

"Wha-wha? No!" Draco screamed as he began to wake up. His eyelids fluttered open and stared at Harry. Instantly, Draco's eyes filled with misdirected anger and pushed Harry off of him.

"Geroff," he muttered angrily.

"Draco, you were dreaming again. What was it about?" questioned Harry, his eyes filled with concern.

"None of your business…" he grumbled, trying to block Harry completely.

Harry gave him a worried look.

"It was nothing! I-I dreamed that I was… falling! I was falling. Are you happy?" snapped Draco.

Harry nodded dismissively, getting off the bed to get ready to go to sleep. But Draco began to fell guilty for his earlier actions. "Where do you think _you're _going?" growled Draco seductively, getting off the bed himself and strutting towards Harry across the room.

Harry smiled, he knew this game well and he liked the way it was going. Harry began taking off his shirt, acting although he had not heard Draco's confrontation.

Draco watched Harry start to undress, feeling himself getting very aroused. Harry smirked, realizing what he was doing to Draco, so just moved even slower, causing Draco to charge at him, knocking him to the floor.

Harry let out a muffled giggle, as Draco was on top of him. He grabbed Draco's arms and pushed him easily, as Harry was a bit larger than him, and pinned him to the floor, switching their positions.

"Come on Potter," Draco moaned as Harry teased him.

"Well I don't know… I could just go lock myself in the bathroom like I was planning on doing in the first place and leave you here to finish yourself off…" said Harry, not really intending to follow through with his threat.

"Please…" whispered Draco through his restraint. Harry smiled.

"I like it when you say please," he said, "it is the magic word you know."

But Draco was in no, erm, _mood_ for joking around. He lifted himself up and instantly attached his own mouth to Harry's. They began kissing passionately, Harry still on top.

Harry began relieving his blond partner of his clothing as the two kissed, rolling around on the floor of their room, gathering bits of things from the floor in their hair and on the little clothes they were wearing.

After what seemed like an eternity to Draco, they were both nude. "Harry, it's your turn," rasped Draco, his voice heavy from anticipation. Harry looked him in the eye to make sure he was sure about it, but instead of doing anything further, he got up and dragged Draco to the bed, where they could be more comfortable.

Harry quickly got ready and then eagerly pushed into Draco. Draco moaned loudly, making Harry even harder than he already was. They had made quick work of one another, and both had successfully climaxed within ten minutes. A sweat-covered Harry pulled out of an equally sweaty Draco and lay face up on the bed. Their hearts were beating three times as fast as they normally did and their breathing had increased as well, making it very hard to do anything but lie there, motionless.

After a few minutes of calming down, the boys sluggishly put their boxers back on and climbed onto the bed once more. Draco snuggled up close to Harry and allowed him to kiss him on the top of the head affectionately.

Draco rolled on top of Harry and they began snogging again, their tongues dipping into one another's mouths gently and slowly.

"Draco… I love you," said Harry in between kisses. Draco wanted to respond. He really did. But just then he began to get very lightheaded.

'_What's going on?'_ Draco heard himself think calmly, almost unconcerned. But then he felt another stronger, more powerful voice pushing those thoughts away.

'_Don't say anything,' _the big voice said. And Draco thought, well why not listen? There's no harm in it.

Harry was looking at him strangely, as Draco had stopped kissing him and was now just staring ahead blankly.

'_Push him off. And look angry.'_ Said the voice to Draco, who giddily complied.

"Geroff!" screeched Draco with an odd look in his eye. This completely took Harry by surprise. Draco slowly rose off the bed and glared at Harry furiously.

"Get out, Potter," he spat, pointing towards the door. Harry didn't move.

_'Hurt him.'_

Draco advanced on Harry, his arms outstretched, the dazed look still in his eye. Harry just stood there, as if rooted to the spot. Draco got closer and closer, wrapping his outstretched hands around Harry's neck, applying just the right amount of pressure.

Harry looked utterly shocked, staring openmouthed at Draco. Draco laughed eerily as he choked Harry, quite different from his normal laugh.

'_Squeeze tighter…'_ said the voice in Draco's head. But Draco now thought there was something wrong with what was going on.

'_Wait, why should I? I don't really see the point.'_ Thought Draco, frustrating the other voice.

'_You shall do as I say!'_ Said the voice angrily. '_Hurt him!'_

'_Why should I?'_ Thought Draco, combating the voice. '_In fact, I think it would be stupid to do such a thing. Aren't I supposed to love Harry?'_

'_DO AS I SAY!'_

'_I remember now; I do love Harry.'_

'_CHOKE HIM!'_

'_NO.'_

Harry watched, terrified, as the look in Draco's eyes constantly changed. Finally, something happened just as Harry was sure he would pass out from lack of oxygen. Draco's face transformed, now showing fear and concern in place of anger and hate.

"Harry… I'm sorry," he said, loosening his grip, but then his eyes started to glow angrily again and his grip tightened once more.

Harry gasped in shock. Then Draco's face softened again, and so did his grip. "Harry, run." Said Draco clearly.

Harry just stood there dumbfounded. "Harry, RUN!" said Draco, pushing him towards the door. Harry backed away and fumbled with the door. He slowly stumbled into the hallway and just stood there, listening to what was going on inside the room. He heard a lot of things smashing. Was Draco fighting himself?

A cold voice escaped Draco's mouth, "You managed to get away this time, but I will be back. Be warned." And with that, Harry heard a distinct thud as Draco dropped to the floor.

Harry opened the door a crack and peered in. "Draco?" said Harry tentatively, "May I come in?"

Draco nodded from his fetal position on the floor, sobs now wracking his small body. Harry walked towards him and lifted him gingerly. He placed him on the bed and held him in a tight embrace as he finished crying.

"Draco, what just happened?"

"I-I…" Draco knew he couldn't tell Harry about the Imperius curse that his father had placed on him. He had lied about so many other things already, why blow it now? "I don't know," Draco sighed convincingly. "I trust I'll figure it out someday. It's this, er… sickness I get. But it only happens er, like once a year. Strange huh?"

Harry didn't believe him. It was too fishy. But he accepted the explanation for now and held Draco closer, inhaling his scent.

"And Harry?" whispered Draco.

"Hm?"

"I love you too."

"Draco, that was scary."

"I know. I hate it when that happens. I don't know how to control it." said Draco, now getting more confident about his lies.

"I'm glad it only happens once a year," said Harry, deciding he would ignore the fact that he didn't believe Draco.

"Mm, me too."

"Draco? The scariest part was you telling me to leave. I never want to leave you."

"You will never have to." Said Draco, very glad that Harry couldn't see his face. He almost had the word LIAR written all over it.

**(End Of Chapter Twelve)**

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(A/N): Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. --;; Okay, before I go, I just have to say something about the title. ahem It is… er… random. It's a line from a Blink 182 song (one of my favorite bands… RIP, Blink 182 cries). The song's called "Aliens Exist" and I have no idea why they say "twelve majestic lies." It sounds cool though, so hence the chapter name!

Happy reviewing! Until next time,

XOXO Princesspepper OXOX 


	13. Let Me Go

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N) :Hem: I'd like to apologize in advance, because you are going to HATE me by the end of this chapter. Just a warning. BUT, I am writing a sequel. So, this story may not end happy :cough: but I promise you that the sequel will. I'll post it right after I finish this one. This is the second from last chapter of "Save Me From The Dark," and I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to review!

Thanks to: **Elizabeth Turner, ozumas girl, twodollartrick, Kinky Krooks, Pure Black, potterluvva,personz-of-da-dungoen, Daniels Dark Angel, angelo maledetto, adina, no Siriusly, Confused-Gal,harrypottermove over** and **Remi**!

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**(Chapter Thirteen: Let Me Go)**

Draco was reminded of that night so many months ago. The night he had first dreamed about Harry. That night he had felt far worse than he had almost any time before. And this… well this was even worse than that.

Now he had the knowledge he had to give up the thing he loved most in the world and he wasn't about to do it without a fight. He felt the morbid thoughts flooding back to him. The weight of the world was on his shoulders. And he was alone.

He turned his head slightly to gaze at the unoccupied half of his King-Sized bed. Normally, Harry would be soundly asleep next to him, their arms around one another. But tonight, Harry was in Gryffindor Tower. Draco wasn't quite sure why, but he had a feeling Harry was scared because of the previous night. And Draco didn't blame him; what had happened was quite hellish. But Draco couldn't help taking it personally. He did not deal well with rejection.

He again thought back on that night. Pansy had been next to him that night, which was the only thing worse about it. He couldn't help thinking about how much he had changed since then. Back then, Draco was still pretending he was straight. And look at him now! He was laying in his bed, thinking about the _man_ he was in love with. And not long before then, he had lost his virginity to the same man. And now he was gone.

Of course Harry had every intention of coming back, but Draco had the feeling that it wouldn't make much of a difference. He had to give up this whole charade. Another thing about that night that Draco remembered was what he did after he booted Pansy out.

He had cut himself. And he was getting the strong urge to do so again. But he had stopped! And for Harry's sake, too. Harry would get very angry if he were to do that again. But right then, Draco didn't care.

He hoisted his narrow body from the bed and dragged his feet over to the bathroom. He turned on the light and, squinting at the sudden brightness, edged over to the cabinet. He reached in the drawer and his hand closed over the cool metal of his knife. But as Draco pressed the cold blade to his skin, he realized this was not what he needed. He didn't need Harry to find him bleeding to death on the bathroom floor. He didn't need to be weakened any further than he already was. He didn't need the vulnerability.

So the knife clattered to the floor, but this time, not dripping with his blood. This time it was as clean as it was when he retrieved it from the drawer. And Draco slowly moved back to his empty bed and fell into a restless sleep.

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**

Draco woke up the next morning to bright light streaming through the curtains. It was a beautiful day, but there was no way it reflected his mood. He groaned and turned over, but paused in the middle of his motion. A smile spread across his pale face as he saw what was there to greet his tired eyes.

As it turned out, Harry was back. He had apparently crawled into bed with Draco in the middle of the night. He was fast asleep, a faint grin on his relaxed face. The sight brought tears to Draco's silver eyes as he thought of himself hurting this beautiful creature. But he had no choice.

Draco climbed on top of Harry, planting a gentle kiss on each of his closed eyelids. Harry stirred, turning his head as to face Draco and sleepily blinking his eyes until they were in focus. Harry smiled sweetly and wrapped his arms around Draco's neck. Draco smiled back, despite the pain it caused his heart.

"Morning, love," whispered Draco, pecking Harry on the cheek. Harry giggled blithely, looking up at Draco. He leaned forward with the intention of kissing Harry properly on the lips but Harry refused him.

"I've got morning breath," Harry said sleepily. Draco shook his head, amused.

"You know I don't care," Draco said softly. Harry pouted but complied. Draco tried his best to savor this; for he knew this would be one of the last times they would have an exchange like this. Draco slid his snake-like tongue in and out of Harry's mouth, making him moan slightly. Draco smiled and deepened the kiss, now straddling Harry's narrow hips. Harry brought up his hands to tangle them in Draco's soft hair, pulling on it gently as he leaned up to make even more contact with Draco.

After a minute or so, Draco pulled away, smiling at a now very ruffled looking Harry. But Draco remembered why he had done that in the first place.

"Harry… I've got to go. I'll… I'll be back later," said Draco, wincing at his vagueness. Harry sat up in bed and watched Draco's retreating form, a puzzled expression on his face. But Draco looked the other way at Harry's bemusement and walked out the door.

Once outside, Draco decided he would take a walk to clear his head. He had no idea how to go about this. He couldn't just _break up_ with Harry. Sure, Draco had broken up with people before, lots in fact. But he had always been mad at them or gotten bored with them. And they were never so hurt because he had been acting like a bastard anyway.

_Wait…_ Thought Draco. He was definitely on to something. He knew that doing what he was thinking of doing might only make things worse, but hey, he could give it a shot. So that's what he would do. He would be a complete jerk towards Harry. And _then _he would break it off. There were doubts nagging at the back of Draco's mind but he pushed them aside.

'_Well,'_ he thought grimly, '_it's the only plan I've got.'_

**

* * *

**

Later that day at lunch, Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table, trying his best to look in place. He couldn't help glancing at the door every so often for he had noticed Harry had not arrived yet.

Finally, after much worrying, the doors to the Great Hall opened and in came a very rumpled looking Harry. Draco tried his hardest not to stare; Harry looked so sexy when he was disheveled. But to no avail. Harry managed to catch Draco's eye and walk over to the Slytherin table.

"H-hi Draco," Harry said, slightly out of breath. Draco merely glanced at his boyfriend and raised one eyebrow questioningly. '_This already hurts_,' Draco thought silently.

"What do _you _want, Potter?" Draco seethed vehemently, putting on a show for the onlookers. Blaise Zabini caught Draco's eye and gave him a puzzled look. Draco ignored the query and turned back to Harry, who had a look of utter bemusement on his face.

"Well I was just wondering why you weren't sitting at my table. You usually sit there," said Harry cautiously, still extremely puzzled.

"Why would I sit with you, _Potter_? I would die before be caught with a bunch of goody-two-shoes Gryffindors!" Draco spat.

Harry's eyes widened, giving him the deer-in-the-headlights look. He backed away slowly, tears clearly forming in the corners of his eyes. Draco averted his gaze; unable to watch the one he loved get upset over something he himself did. Draco sighed inwardly and continued eating, although he had quite lost his appetite.

After lunch, Zabini caught up with him, looking almost as puzzled as Harry had earlier.

"Draco, what is _up_ with you?" Blaise said, frightened slightly, "a few days ago you were all lovey-dovey and wouldn't talk about anything _but_ Potter, and now you go and make him cry! Did you two have a fight or something?"

Draco shook his head sadly and reached inside his pocket to find the note his father had written him previously. He shakily handed it over to Blaise.

Zabini skimmed the text quickly, his eyes getting progressively wider with every word he read. When he was finished, he folded the note back up and handed it to Draco, who met his eyes. Blaise was a very compassionate person, and this became even more apparent just then. His eyes had welled up with tears as he surveyed Draco with pity.

"So you're doing it for love, huh?" said Blaise softly, receiving a quick nod from Draco, who now had his eyes downcast.

"I know this is hard for you Drake, but you're doing the right thing," said Blaise reassuringly, rubbing his best friend's back in rhythmic circles to soothe him.

"I-I just feel so bad being mean to him!" Draco whispered, "It's like fifth year all over again! Or any year before this one, for that matter," he added.

Blaise nodded, understanding how Draco felt. "You're right in thinking this is the only way," said Blaise sadly, "I can't think of any other way to go about this. Unless you were to be selfish and just keep Harry until your dad gets him," Draco shuddered as Blaise said this. It was truly unthinkable.

"And I'm still not done," said Draco, "I've really got to put on a show here. That way my father will think maybe we really did break up for a good reason. Because if he knew I was breaking it off with Harry just to keep him from Lucius, I would be dead. Literally."

Blaise nodded. "Well then, you should get to work," he said grimly.

**

* * *

**

For the rest of the day, every time Harry passed Draco, Draco looked the other way. He just couldn't look at his wilted face. So Draco resolved that he would _somehow_ let Harry know that he still cared.

Draco went to the library where he could find peace and pulled out a blank sheet of parchment and a quill. He sat there for a while, sucking on the tip of his quill trying to think of what to write. It would have to be subtle, yet Harry would have to know what it was about. But again, it couldn't be too obvious, just in case it got into the wrong hands. He thought of Harry, with his beautiful flawless smile. And his raven hair blowing in the breeze. His cute little laugh that would ring in Draco's ears for hours on end. The freckles that were generously splashed across his muscular chest…

Draco didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but one thing was for sure: he had gotten lost in memories. When he finally came to his senses, he had tears in his eyes. And words in his head. So Draco began to write…

**

* * *

**

That night Draco skipped dinner because he didn't want there to be another scene. He didn't want to embarrass Harry in front of the whole school. Besides, the real reason Draco was being a bastard was not because he wanted people to think that he and Harry had gotten into a fight. He knew it was really because if Draco told Harry the real reason they were breaking up, Harry wouldn't see how big the threat was. Harry would go and play hero, and in turn get himself killed. And Draco couldn't live with Harry's blood on his hands. So it had to be this way.

Draco lay on their bed, waiting for Harry to come in. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was only a matter of minutes, the portrait hole creaked open. Harry peered inside, looking very vulnerable.

"Draco?" Harry whispered. Draco just stared at Harry. As it turned out, the Slytherin was quite a good actor. He was completely passive as Harry sat down on the bed next to him.

"Is there something wrong?" Harry said tentatively, "you acted really strange at lunch today."

Draco just sighed, ignoring Harry's question, "You're way too sensitive, Potter."

Harry closed his eyes slowly in disbelief. This was _not_ really happening. Harry began to get angry.

"You know, what is your bloody _problem_?" hissed Harry, "one minute you're kissing me and telling me you love me, the next you're cursing me out in front of the whole school! Are you suffering from short-term memory loss or something? Have you reverted back to fifteen?"

Draco smirked. "Oh, you want me to kiss you?" he said nastily. He grabbed Harry's shoulders and pushed him roughly onto the bed, sitting on his legs. He grabbed Harry brutally and began kissing him hard, prying Harry's lips open with his tongue and proceeding to thrust his tongue into Harry's mouth. Harry was protesting slightly, but wasn't doing much to stop him mostly out of shock. Harry could have easily taken over the situation, as he was quite a bit stronger than Draco, but he was just so surprised by Draco's brutality that he was rendered motionless.

When Draco broke away and slid off Harry, he smirked cockily again. "There, is that what you wanted?"

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Harry yelled, very disturbed.

"Nothing, you little git! I feel more like myself than I have in _months._" Draco hissed nastily.

Harry's jaw dropped. "Stop being a prat! This is so childish…" Harry's voice trailed off as Draco's behavior started to really get to him. Hot wet tears formed behind his eyes and he hurriedly blinked them away.

"Aw, did I upset the Golden-Boy?" Draco sneered sarcastically.

"You know what!" Harry screamed, fury blazing in his eyes, "fuck you, Malfoy!"

Draco cackled at Harry's display of emotion, "Ah, see? Right there! You already did!" and with that, Draco collapsed in peals of (fake) laughter. When he finally raised his eyes to look at Harry, the sight he saw almost made him blow his act.

Harry looked so utterly hurt that Draco almost burst into tears right then and there. His face had completely fallen; all anger and hatred gone from his face. All that was there was pure hurt and sorrow. With that and one final fleeting glance over his shoulder, Harry snapped his trunk closed and dragged himself out the door, his depleted will all that was keeping him going.

**

* * *

**

An hour later, Blaise slowly walked into Draco's room to find him face down on the bed, clearly sobbing.

"Draco…" Blaise sighed, "Are you alright?"

Draco was so far gone that his only reaction was to lash out in anger. He bolted upright in bed and wiping his red eyes, glared at Blaise.

"Oh, sure! Everything is just _peachy_! I'm bloody fine!" Draco screeched. Blaise knew better than to interrupt Draco in one of his outbursts, so he let him continue. "I just broke up with my boyfriend for _no good reason at all_! I'm fine! And the fact that I still bloody _love_ him makes everything so much more bearable!"

Draco's small frame collapsed once more in heart wrenching sobs that made him fall back onto the bed. His soft blonde hair was plastered to his scalp everywhere and his robes were horribly rumpled. He was a mess.

Blaise laid down on the bed next to Draco, concern apparent all over his face. He wrapped his arms around Draco protectively, soothing the smaller young man. Draco looked up at Blaise gratefully as tears continued to stream down his pale face.

Blaise studied Draco carefully, admitting only to himself that he was slightly enjoying this rare moment of vulnerability that was being displayed. He looked at the way that Draco's tears clung to his long dark eyelashes and the way that redness was slowly creeping toward the stormy gray center of Draco's lovely eyes. Zabini decided he liked Draco best like this; he was so much easier to be with.

Blaise snapped out of his trance when he realized Draco was about to start talking. "I wrote him a note, Blaise. I just don't know how to get it to him…" Draco said, his voice trailing off as another wave of tears threatened to take over.

"Do you want me to read it, or would you rather it would be kept private?" Blaise asked.

"Er, I think I'd rather Harry be the only one to read it," Draco said, receiving a nod of understanding from Zabini. "But the trouble is I don't know how to get it to him!"

Blaise looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes lit up with an idea. "I just saw the light bulb go off…" muttered Draco as Blaise looked around the room. He got off the bed and walked purposefully to the other side of the room. He bent down and slowly picked up a piece of silvery material from the floor.

"Harry must have left in a hurry, jeez, what did you say to him?" Blaise remarked, brandishing the invisibility cloak. Draco smiled.

"I think I know where you're going with this…"

**

* * *

**

"Hermione! Psst, Hermione!" Draco was whispering not too long after. He was underneath Harry's invisibility cloak and right behind Hermione, who was making her way towards the Gryffindor portrait hole.

Hermione instantly whipped around, getting very spooked by the "disembodied" voice.

"Who's there?" she yelped.

Draco took this opportunity to whip off the invisibility cloak, revealing his identity to her. Her jaw dropped and her eyes filled with fury.

"Why you little… how DARE you show your face here!" she screeched, "after what you did to Harry… I ought to KILL you!" and with that, Hermione harshly backhanded Draco across the cheek, leaving a nasty red mark.

Draco squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth to the pain. "Hermione, please let me explain!" he gasped; afraid she would lash out again. She sternly put her hands on her hips and clearly indicated she wasn't going to give him much time to redeem himself.

Because there is no substitute for the real thing, Draco simply reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out the letter his father had sent him, handing it over to Hermione as he had done with Blaise.

She reacted in much the same way. Her eyes filled with tears and she pulled Draco into a tight embrace. "You have no idea how many tears I have cried over Harry…" Draco whispered into her ear, which only made her squeeze him tighter.

"Draco, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have just assumed like that," Hermione said seriously. "I know why you did it though. And Harry can't know." Draco nodded in agreement.

"Now, there's a reason I'm telling you this," Draco said quietly, shooting nervous glances about the corridor. "I want you to give this to Harry." Draco said, producing the letter he had written from his pocket.

Hermione took it and pocketed it. "But do it subtly. Leave it on his pillow or something. Don't let him see it's from you or he'll ask you questions. And under NO circumstances will you tell him the real reason I dumped him." Draco said sternly. "Oh, and give this to him too." He added, handing her Harry's invisibility cloak.

Hermione nodded in agreement. As Draco was about to walk away, she stopped him.

"Draco, wait. I guess this is goodbye," she said sadly, "we can't be friends anymore. It would be too obvious."

Draco looked at her and realized that she was right. He cautiously walked over to her, and giving up on his restraint, embraced her fully. Before they broke away, she gave him a little peck on the cheek.

"You know, Draco," Hermione said, a small smile playing across her lips, "I never thought I would be saying this, after all those years of us hating each other, but you're really a great guy."

"You're not too bad yourself," said Draco, smiling back. And with that, the two friends parted ways

**

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**

Later that night, Harry returned from the common room, where he was being comforted by several of his friends, and walked slowly and miserably to the bed he hadn't slept in for quite a while. Just before he was going to lie down, something on his pillow caught his eye. It was his invisibility cloak, neatly folded and placed squarely in the middle of his pillow to catch his eye. But even more intriguing was a piece of parchment, all folded up and with his name written on it.

He immediately recognized the handwriting as Draco's, and felt a fresh wave of fury and sadness coming on. He had half a mind to set fire to it with his wand, but his curiosity got the better of him. He slowly unfolded the note with shaky hands.

He smiled as he began to read over it. It was not in Draco's own words, but in the form of a song, one of Harry's favorites as a matter of fact. Draco may not have written it himself, but the meaning was clear…

_…Broken this fragile thing now,_

_And I can't, I can't pick up the pieces._

_And I've thrown my words all around,_

_But I can't, I can't give you a reason._

_I feel so broken up._

_And I give up._

_Just want to tell you so you know…_

_Here I go,_

_Scream my lungs out,_

_And try to get to you._

_You are my only one._

_I let go._

_There's just no one_

_Who gets me like you do._

_You are my only,_

_My only one._

_Made my mistakes let you down,_

_And I can't,_

_I can't hold on for too long._

_Ran my whole life in the ground,_

_And I can't,_

_I can't get up when you're gone._

_Something's breaking up,_

_I feel like giving up,_

_I won't walk out until you know._

_Here I go,_

_Scream my lungs out,_

_And try to get to you._

_You are my only one._

_I let go._

_There's just no one_

_Who gets me like you do._

_You are my only,_

_My only one._

_Here I go,_

_So dishonestly._

_I leave a note,_

_For you, my only one._

_And I know,_

_You can see right through me._

_So let me go,_

_And you will find someone…_

_I'll always love you. _

_-D_

Harry's eyes welled up as he read the last words, which were completely from Draco. His tears fell onto the parchment, and that's when Harry noticed it was already tear-stained. It made Harry feel a lot better to know that Draco at least had a good reason for breaking up with him, even if Harry didn't exactly know what it was. Harry fell back onto the bed, clutching the note to his chest. As he cried, he knew that this was the end. At least for now…

**(End Of Chapter Thirteen)**

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(A/N): . Poor Harry! Poor Draco! POOR ME:ducks things thrown at her: ehe --;; Uh… in case you didn't know, the song in Draco's letter is called "Only One" and it's by Yellowcard (my favorite band! XD). It just reminded me so much of Harry and Draco's situation in my fic. I just had to stick it in somewhere lol. Yeah, so one more chapter after this. Nothing too major will happen in it though, it's just an epilogue to tie up loose ends. It'll be a song fic, just to let you know. So, review! Remember, there'll be a sequel where they get back together, so don't hate me too much! Until next time,

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


	14. Lost Without You

Title: Save Me From The Dark

Author: Princesspepper

Rating: I think I can get away with R.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Pairing: Harry/Draco (suggestion of Ron/Hermione, but, of course, that is not important).

WARNINGS: Sexual content (later), adult language, self-harm (cutting, more specifically), kinda dark, and some Ron-bashing in later chapters.

(A/N): How sad, the last chapter! My first multi-chapter fic comes to a close… weeps I wanna thank everyone who followed this through its progress, it means a whole lot to me!

Thanks to: **ozumas girl, Kinky Krooks, harrypottermove over,twodollartrick, Confused-Gal, Elizabeth Turner,Jaded Havok, spamy, Daniels Dark Angel,personz-of-da-dungoen, no Siriusly,twistedangelofdarkfaith, Dragonrose, Radcliffe,****InsideMyWorld, Deacon, spirit element, adina,Gryffindorgrl86, Pure Black, Debs, ania,** and **dreamerdoll**! Also to anyone who reviewed this chapter, thankies!

**

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**

**(Chapter Fourteen: Lost Without You)**

Harry stared out the window of his room onto the frosty grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That's all he could bring himself to do in his spare time lately. He had nothing to do but dwell on the past and try to understand what went wrong. He just couldn't figure it out. But then that sweet little note from Draco gave him a little glimmer of hope, which only faded when he was reminded of what Draco had suggested before Harry had walked out.

Did he really only use Harry like Samantha had? Was he planning on shagging him then walking away all along? At first, it seemed wholly possible, but then Harry thought more and he came to realize that this simply couldn't be so. Why would Draco even _bother_ leaving that note if he truly did not care about Harry? And it had clearly said that he loved him.

Harry sighed and turned away from the window. The only reason he was still alive and functioning was because he still had some hope. Otherwise, he didn't know what he would do. Life was so bland and empty without Draco.

_I swear that I could go on forever again.  
Please let me know that my one bad day will end._  
_I will go down as your lover, your friend;  
Give me your lips and with one kiss we begin_

Harry felt hot tears well up behind his emerald green eyes as he thought of his and Draco's last beautiful night together. What had changed in that little time?

And one thing had made everything else worse. Harry couldn't sleep properly without Draco. He was so accustomed to going to sleep and waking up with his arms wrapped protectively around his lover, but now, he woke up to his cold empty bed with the hangings drawn shut. And he was having nightmares.

Harry had been having these bad dreams for most of his life, but he didn't notice that they had stopped when he began sleeping with Draco. All he knew was that _Draco's _nightmares had stopped. And now that Draco was gone, Harry's horrific nightmares had increased two-fold. Now he was waking up to cold sweats and screaming. But the awful thing was he could never remember what he had been dreaming about. His only clue as to what his dreams had been about was what he was screaming when he awoke. Most of the time he was either screaming "NO!" or "DRACO!" which was very odd. Or so it seemed.

_Are you afraid of being alone?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you.  
Are you afraid of leaving tonight?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you._

Everybody seemed to know about Harry and Draco's breakup, but nobody ever mentioned it. The only person who seemed to care was Hermione, but Harry didn't want to talk to her, or anyone else. He just didn't want to think about it. Talking would probably only bring him back to the harsh reality that was his life.

Harry was always glancing at the door of his room, his subconscious hoping that he would see Draco walking through the door. His attention never wavered from that spot, even if his eyes did.

Harry knew he was being foolish. He knew that Draco would most likely never come back. But he pretty much didn't care. He needed that hope.

_I'll leave my room open till sunrise for you.  
I'll keep my eyes patiently focused on you._

So Harry dragged his feet over to his bed and lay down on his cold sheets. He didn't even bother to pull the covers over himself. He would be cold anyway. So he fell asleep.

But he was quickly awakened by knocking on the door. Harry raised his head from the pillow just in time to see the door creak open. Draco walked into the room slowly.

Harry sat upright and locked eyes with him. A wide grin spread across his sleepy face. Draco smiled back and ran over to the bed, his arms outstretched. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry protectively. Harry started sobbing onto Draco's shoulder, wracking both their bodies with sorrow and relief.

Draco pulled away and cupped Harry's face in his hands. "Harry," he whispered, his stunning silver eyes filling with tears, making him look adorable. "I will never leave you again."

But Harry couldn't talk. His vocal cords were all tied up from his crying. So he just nodded. Draco smiled and brought his face closer to Harry's, about to capture him in a kiss that promised to be breathtaking.

But as the boys' lips were mere millimeters away, something happened. Time seemed to freeze. And Harry woke up for real.

_Where are you now? I can hear footsteps, I'm dreaming.  
And if you will, keep me from waking, to believe this._

Harry now felt even sadder than he had before. Fresh tears were stinging his eyes and threatening to escape. Suddenly, he felt an urge to do something. To continue a certain habit he had kicked over a year ago.

Harry felt the strong urge to cut himself. He pulled up his shirtsleeve to look at the broken heart he had carved in his arm. 'Samantha,' he thought painfully. And now he could think of Draco as he looked at it. But Harry had been heartbroken one too many times apparently.

As he stared at the scar on his arm, right before his eyes, it tore itself open once again. Blood leaked from the edges of the pale heart and oozed down his arm, creating the illusion that his heart was breaking. All over again.

Harry stared, transfixed, as the wound deepened all by itself. He didn't so much as touch it and it bled more and more. It was so symbolic that it was almost funny. But then Harry finally remembered that wounds didn't bleed all by themselves as he recovered from the initial shock. Harry started to sob.

_Are you afraid of being alone?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you.  
Are you afraid of leaving tonight?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you._

His tears trickled down his paling cheeks and fell down onto his forearm, where they mingled with the fresh blood. He just cried and cried, finally sinking down onto the floor, writhing in both physical and emotional agony.

"Draco…" cried Harry, "where are you, love?" he whispered one final time before passing out from all his misery.

_Are you afraid of being alone?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you.  
Are you afraid of leaving tonight?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you.  
Are you afraid of being alone?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you.  
Are you afraid of leaving tonight?  
Cause I am, I'm lost without you._

"Harry, what happened?" Hermione was asking a very subdued-looking Harry the next day at breakfast.

"Yes, what is it mate?" added a now more open-minded Ron. It turned out that he couldn't stand seeing Harry upset any longer, and finally came to his senses, with just a bit of help from Hermione. Okay, well maybe more than a bit.

Harry merely shook his head and kept his eyes downcast at his plate. "Harry, you're a complete mess." Said Hermione sternly.

"I-" said Harry, his voice cracking from disuse. "I feel awful. I still can't believe what happened with Draco."

As he said this, Draco Malfoy himself strode into the room. Harry carefully stared at his eggs, pushing them around on his plate. Draco shot the Gryffindor table a contemptuous glance before taking a seat between Zabini and Parkinson, kissing the latter on the cheek. This made Harry glower.

Everyone knew Draco was gay, why was he still pretending? Harry didn't want to think about it any longer, so he returned to his food.

**

* * *

**

Later on, Ron and Hermione invited themselves into Harry's private room. Hermione demanded that he explain what was wrong.

"You said it yourself, I'm a complete mess!" Harry hissed miserably. "This is like Samantha all over again, except this time I was in love and we had sex twice!" Ron visibly cringed at this statement. He was still getting used to the fact that Harry was gay. It wasn't so easy for him to accept.

Hermione however, was feeling very compassionate. She embraced Harry and let him cry on her shoulder. "Harry," she whispered, "you've got to let go. Believe me, Draco didn't want this any more than you did." But when Harry questioned her, she just ignored him.

When Harry pulled away, his shirtsleeve went up a little, revealing part of the fresh scab that formed over the wound that had opened earlier. He went to quickly pull it down, but Hermione had already seen. She grabbed his arm and yanked up the sleeve further.

"Harry—you've been cutting again!" she yelled, looking at him with a horrified expression on her face.

"N-no I haven't!" yelped Harry, startled from her reaction.

"How could you say that! Look!" she screamed, gesturing to the scab.

"But Hermione, it's the weirdest thing! It just opened itself up last night! I swear, I didn't do it!" Harry said defensively.

Hermione raised an eyebrow in questioning, but accepted Harry's excuse. But she was still very confused. 'Why would that happen?' She thought to herself. All of a sudden, the proverbial light bulb went off.

"Harry! I-I've got to go!" she yelled, grabbing Ron's arm and busting out of Harry's room.

On their way out, Harry heard Ron say, "Wh-where are we going 'Mione?"

"Honestly, Ronald! We're going to the library of course!"

Harry chuckled despite himself. That was so Hermione. But his giddiness soon faded as he remembered why he had been feeling sad. He sank all the way down on his bed until he was lying. He silently wondered if he would ever be truly happy again. He was just so lost lately.

Part of Harry knew that he needed to move on. It was just necessary to get through life now. But another part told him that he would never give up on Draco. Never. He would always wait for him, no matter how long it took. Harry Potter was in love, and nothing would ever change that.

_I'm lost without you  
I'm lost without you…_

**(End)**

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(A/N): Sniff SO SAD IT'S OVER! It's been a long, hard journey and… :comes to her senses: okay… never mind. I sound like an idiot, lol. Okay, the song in this chapter is called "Lost Without You" and it's by Blink 182. Appropriate, no? I thought it worked pretty well.

So, the sequel to this fic is called "I Will Not Forget" and it will hopefully be up soon. I'll give you a teaser, just coz I'm really mean. This takes place about a year and a half after the end of this fic, and they've already graduated from Hogwarts. Here it is:

**Teaser: I Will Not Forget**

"Thank you very much," Harry said with a smile as the man took his bags.

"Not at all," the man said, smiling back. "Right this way, Mr. Potter, I'll show you your room."

Harry thanked the man and followed him up a winding staircase. When the two finally reached the landing, the man walked ahead of Harry and reached into his pocket to withdraw a key. He gave it to Harry and gestured to the door in front of him.

"Oh, Mr. Potter?" Harry looked up at that. "I hope you don't mind, but we have limited space here. You'll be sharing your room with another young man."

Harry was slightly taken aback but nodded. He really didn't mind. Harry placed the key in the lock and turned it while simultaneously turning the doorknob. The door slowly creaked open and Harry peered inside. He gasped audibly at what he saw.

"Malfoy!"

**END TEASER**

I like being evil. So, please review, it'll mean a lot to me (as always). Until next time,

**XOXO Princesspepper OXOX**


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